2) After the Tales
by IlaGolden
Summary: This is the second book in the Tales Saga. The Tales Saga is an alternate version of Yu-Gi-Oh which rewrites the story from the end of Battle City onwards. Its been two months since Joey left and combined with Tristan's irratic behaviour Téa's starting to feel like her friends are pulling away from her. But will a new darkness surrounding the group allow them to reconnect?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Light glinted off the studs in their collars as one by one they snaked their way through the darkened streets on the hunt for their leader. Their leader was being evasive like always, but they'd been taught never to give up, never to let go, to always to follow their instincts and reach their goal. This was their training. Their way of learning who they really were. Techniques first used by their ancestors to bring unity to the pack now brought the same kind of kinship to them. It was what made them unique even amongst their own kind. It's what made them proud.

Their leader flicked the hair out of his eyes as he watched them crawl along the streets below. A slim smile flickered at his lips as light glinted unnoticed off of his leather and silver cuff bracelets. They had no idea he was right above them, watching their every movement. As his fingers traced along his own collar, he knew things wouldn't remain this way for long. His pack was strong and determined. They would always find him eventually, no matter where he hid or how clever he thought he was being they always found him in the end. Time and time again they proved their worth and made him proud.

A gentle breeze pulled at the light material of his black with gold trim tunic style top and his black trousers made a soft swishing noise as he brought himself closer to the edge of the rooftop. He was counting down the minutes until they found him. They were close now; they had his scent and soon, soon they would join him on the rooftop, ready to begin again.

'Did you come to howl at the moon?' Her voice sounded wearily from behind him. 'It's so pretty tonight, I wish I could howl at it.'

He turned towards her. The cold sweat which clung to her skin made her shimmer in the moonlight. She'd been this way for a while. Pale, weak and unable to recover from the sickness which plagued her; it broke his heart to see her this way.

'You should be in bed,' he took several steps towards her, 'you're not well.'

'I'm tired of bed, I miss the air. Can't I play for a little while?'

'You're too weak; it's too soon for you to be out like this.'

'Weak,' she frowned at the word, 'I'm weak? But I was stronger than you once, wasn't I?'

'Yes, but right now you're sick. That sickness is making you weak.'

'Weak...?' she lowered her gaze. 'Right now I'm weak, but I'll be better soon, won't I?'

'Soon, I hope,' he gently stroked some of the hair back from her forehead, 'nothing would make me happier than to see you well again. But for now you should be in bed. I know you hate it, but it really is the best place for you.'

'Bed,' she nodded, 'but... let me hear you howl first. I wanna hear you howl.'

A grin pulled at his lips as a soft laugh rippled out of him; even in her sickness the charm of her innocence prevailed. Tilting his head upwards he began howling as loudly and passionately as he was able. Down in the streets below the hunters heard their leader's call; they knew where he was now and soon they would be with him once more.

* * *

Téa gave a heavy sigh as she stared at the once again empty desk. Joey might have been an insensitive idiot from time to time, but she couldn't help but miss him. It was as though this giant hole had formed in the centre of their group and nothing could fill it. Not that anyone was really trying; most of the time Yugi was preoccupied with trying to locate the still missing Millennium Eye, whereas Tristan was just generally preoccupied. Téa sighed again and tried not to give into the feelings telling her she was slowly losing all her friends.

'He did say he didn't know when he'd be back.' Yugi leant towards her.

'But he also said he'd be back,' Téa turned towards him, 'it's been almost two months now and we've not heard a thing.'

'He'll be back, soon, I know it,' he smiled, 'things are probably more complicated than he anticipated. And two months really isn't all that long you know.'

'Yeah I know.' Téa's gaze shifted towards Tristan's empty chair. 'Think he'll show today?'

'He'll probably be in second period again,' Yugi shrugged. 'He's actually just been late this week.'

'That makes a change,' Téa rolled her eyes. 'At least Joey had the decency to let us know he was leaving.'

'What do you mean?'

'I don't know. I just get this feeling Tristan is pulling away.'

'And you think talking about me behind my back is the best way to stop that from happening?' Tristan's voice made her jump.

'Tristan I didn't mean...'

'Whatever,' he flopped himself down into his seat and shifted his gaze towards the window. 'You guys meeting up with Duke after school?'

'We were planning to; I mean he'll want to be celebrating his clean bill of health, right?'

'His last hospital appointment for the foreseeable future,' Yugi grinned, 'he must be so relieved.'

'I think he said it went beyond relief,' Tristan began tapping a pencil against his desk, 'then he started saying something about things getting back to normal again and I tuned out.'

'You've been spending a lot of time with Duke recently,' Téa frowned at him.

'He needed the help and I needed the distraction,' Tristan shrugged, 'besides he wasn't the only one affected by the Boy.'

'That's true.' Yugi gave a muted half laugh. 'Man that whole situation was one big mess, wasn't it?'

'It's still a mess Yugi. One big, complicated mess and no one's doing anything about it.'

'What do you mean?' Téa leaned towards him, hoping for once he would confide in them.

'I keep telling you and telling you and you don't listen,' Tristan glared at her for a moment, before shifting his gaze back towards the window. 'Things are wrong. Things are very, very wrong. Why am I the only one who can see that?'

Yugi went to say something, but his words were cut off by their teacher entering the room. Téa gave a heavy sigh and shifted back round in her seat; for now at least their conversation would have to be put on hold.

* * *

Mokuba stared at the disk containing SK's research and willed his cousin to appear before him. In the last couple of months he'd found himself doing this a lot. He wasn't totally sure why, but he missed SK. He knew it was crazy to miss someone he'd only known for less than a day, but it was how he felt. He gave a heavy sigh and flopped down onto his bed.

'Can you hear me where you are SK?' He played with the disk in his hands. 'Are the dead allowed to watch over their relatives or is that against the rules too?'

Mokuba turned over onto his side and tried to ignore the self-conscious feeling stirring inside of him. He knew if his brother were to come in now and see him still mourning the cousin they barely knew he would not be happy. Kaiba viewed the whole SK situation as an annoyance he could have done without. Mokuba wished with everything in him that for once his brother wouldn't be so black and white about everything. That he would understand the subtle levels of grey which made him miss the cousin he barely knew.

'Can you hear me where you are SK?' Mokuba repeated his earlier words. 'Would meeting you again really be against the rules?'

* * *

It was four o'clock and the three of them were stood outside the hospital waiting for Duke. This wasn't the first time in the last couple of months they'd done this, but the thought of it being the last time set Tristan on edge. If Duke was healthy enough to take care of himself now then how the hell was he supposed to keep himself distracted? Plus Duke was the only one of his friends who didn't feel the constant need to find out what was wrong with him. He'd told them what was wrong; it wasn't his fault if they didn't get it.

'Are you sure he said to meet him here?' Téa shot Tristan a look.

'Do you just automatically switch off every time I talk to you these days,' Tristan felt his shoulder's tense, 'or do you just have trouble believing me?'

'He's probably just running a little late,' Yugi sighed, 'he's not been well, remember?'

As if on cue Duke emerged from the hospital entrance and walked towards them.

'Hey guys,' he smiled coolly, 'glad to see you, though I must say I'm getting a little sick of your face Tristan.'

'Didn't take you long to get back to your old self,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'Maybe not from your point of view,' Duke shrugged, before smirking. 'So where do you guys wanna go?'

'Oh no, you don't get out of it that easily Duke, you said we were going to Burger World, your treat,' Tristan folded his arms.

'When did I say that?'

'Last Sunday when you had me cover that double shift. You know if I'm going to be saving your ass all the time, you might want to put me on the books.'

'Actually I did want to talk to you about that,' Duke studied him for a moment. 'You've been a big help the last two months and I was wondering if you'd be interested in a job.'

'I'll think about it.'

'What's to think about? You deserve to get paid for all the work you've put into the Black Clown. I mean, obviously you'll have to start off on the shop floor, but I'll get you trained up to manager in no time.'

'I said I'll think about it,' Tristan averted his gaze.

He had to admit he was very tempted by Duke's offer. After all, he'd just been trying to figure out a way of keeping himself occupied and one had fallen into his lap. But the feelings of dread which still sloshed around inside of him warned him against committing to anything long term.

'So... Burger World?' Yugi broke the awkward silence.

'Sounds good to me,' Téa started forward and the rest followed.

It was a twenty minute walk to Burger World from the hospital and the other three spent most of their time chatting. Tristan kept enough of an ear on their conversation to know when he needed to respond, but kept his general participation to a minimum. It was the only way to keep Téa from asking her annoying questions; she was like a dog with a bone and he would have given anything for her to just give it up.

'Hey that looks cool.' Téa stopped and pointed towards a shoddy little psychic stall half hidden between shops. 'Anyone want to get their fortunes read?'

'Didn't you learn anything from the last time Téa,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'that guy's an obvious phony. If you really want to get your fortune read then you should go to Madam Oden's.'

'You mean that creepy little shop with the eye on the front?' Téa shuddered.

'With everything we've seen you're really going to call Madam Oden's shop creepy?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at her. 'That phony over there is creepy; Madam Oden is actually pretty cool.'

'And you would know this how?'

'I've spent a bit of time there recently,' he shrugged. 'I was hoping she would help me understand a few things, turns out it was just nice to talk to someone who gets it.'

'Gets what exactly?' Téa shot him a look. 'And it's not like you give us a chance to understand. Every time we ask you just get all cagey and angry about it, like we're supposed to just know or something.'

'Whatever.'

'Well maybe we should meet this Madam Oden of yours,' Téa folded her arms, 'if she's really so great at understanding you, maybe she can tell me where I'm going wrong.'

'Why do I get the feeling our trip to Burger World is about to be delayed?' Duke shook his head.

'You don't mind, do you Duke?' Téa shot him a weak smile.

'Of course not. I have to admit this isn't the first time Tristan's mentioned Madam Oden to me and I'm a little curious about her.'

'I guess it's decided then,' Tristan turned off in the direction of her shop.

The others followed and it didn't take long for the dingy little shop to come into view. Tristan headed in without hesitation. In the half light he could just make out a haggard, elderly sage like gypsy stood behind the counter.

'I had a feeling you would come and see me today Tristan.' Her eyes glinted mischievously at him.

'You should think of a new line Madam Oden.' Tristan half lowered his head.

'You've brought friends with you.' Her eyes scanned his companions. 'The girl has many questions,' her gaze fixed itself on Téa. 'She feels as though her friends are slipping through her fingers and she doesn't know why. I know you have a lot on your mind Tristan,' she shifted her sights back to him, 'but your distance really isn't helping. She wants you to open up to her. She needs it. And something tells me you know that.'

Tristan shrugged and averted his gaze. He hated when Madam Oden did things like that. She knew he was having trouble connecting with his friends and she was constantly finding new ways to fix the problems for him. The trouble was he wasn't sure if the problems could be fixed; not whilst everything still felt so wrong.

'I know you and your friends have plans Tristan, but do you mind running a little errand for me?' Madam Oden smiled at him.

'It's about the wolves, isn't it?' Tristan frowned at her.

'What wolves?' Téa flicked her gaze between them.

'Don't you read the paper, ever?'

'I...'

'Are you talking about those reports of howling coming from the warehouses?' Duke tilted his head in thought. 'Isn't it supposed to be a pack of wild dogs or something?'

'It's the or something I'm worried about,' Madam Oden's lips pulled into a thoughtful pout, 'I know I said it was an errand Tristan, but this is as much for me as it is for you. This might have something to do with what you've been sensing.'

'Maybe,' Tristan folded his arms, 'but I guess there's only one way to know for sure.'

'You're a good boy Tristan,' Madam Oden smiled at him, 'try not to forget that.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Most of the warehouses which lined Domino Harbour were still in active use. But there was a cluster on the far eastern side which had been abandoned after a new build had revamped the face of the seafront just over ten years ago. The four of them picked their way from building to building, before eventually reaching one on the outskirts a little less run down than the others.

'Is it just me or does it feel like someone's watching us,' Téa shuddered.

'I don't know about the being watched thing,' Duke's eyes glanced around, 'but it definitely feels like someone has been here recently.'

'Well either way it's in an ideal location.' Tristan folded his arms. 'Close enough to the city for easy access, but far enough away not to draw too much attention to yourself.'

'And of course you're the expert in these matters.'

'I'm just saying,' he shrugged.

'Well I don't think we'll find our wolves in here,' Téa sighed.

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' an angry voice sounded from behind them.

The four of them turned to see a boy of about twelve watching them intensely. He was dressed in black from head to toe and around his neck was a studded leather dog collar. For half a second Téa thought the collar might have been one of those gothic-punk fashion accessory styled to look like something you would give your pet, but it wasn't.

'You have no right to intrude on our territory,' the boy growled at them, 'who are you?'

'I think the better question right now would be who are you?' Tristan's gaze narrowed on the boy. 'This is no place for a kid to be playing you know.'

'You have no right to be here. Leave or I swear you'll suffer the wrath of mai sarn.'

'I know your senses are heightened right now Natten, but that's no reason to threaten people,' a figure half emerged from one of the shadowy corners.

Téa turned her attention towards the shadowy figure. He was too far into the shadows to make out his face, but Téa could see he was also dressed from head to toe in black.

'But sarn…' Natten stared at the figure.

'No buts Natten; these people are no threat to us,' the figure folded his arms, causing light to reflect off something silver around both of his wrists. 'Gather the pack.'

'Aye mai sarn.' Natten bowed at the figure, before disappearing back into the shadows of the warehouse.

'I'm afraid I must apologise for him,' the figure turned his attention towards them, 'and probably for most of my pack right now. They're having a little trouble separating themselves from the veron. That's why we've been training so much recently, although I'm not sure if it's really helping all that much.'

'You make it sound like you've been gone for longer than two months,' Tristan's jaw hardened.

'Two months... is that really all it's been?'

'What...?' Téa's gaze flicked between Tristan and the shadowy figure. 'Am I missing something here?'

The figure pulled himself out of the shadows, revealing his face. A gasp of shock and surprise escaped Téa before she could stop it. She didn't know if it was the familiarity of his face or the dark, haunting shadows under his eyes and sickly pale look about his skin which caused her to gasp. All she knew is this wasn't what she was expecting, not by a long shot.

'Joey?' Yugi was the first to break the silence.

'Joey?' He looked confused for a moment, before a strange smile crept across his face. 'It's been a long time since anyone's called me that.'

'Again it's only been two months,' Tristan's hands balled into fists for a moment, 'stop making it sound like longer than that.'

'I'm sorry, I guess it just feels that way,' Joey frowned at him. 'You've changed.'

'So have you,' Tristan averted his gaze. 'What exactly is with the collar?'

'The veron always have something to unite them, this is just what our generation chose.'

'The veron?' Téa blinked at him.

'You know the veronie and veronmet.'

'Huh?'

Joey looked stunned for a moment, then he began massaging the back of his neck with both of his hands.

'Sorry it's been a while, I forgot you lot don't know Etean.' He winced in pain. 'Veronie means wolf and veronmet means dog. Veron doesn't mean canine, but we kind of use it in the same way. Anyway the veron of every generation always form a pack under the leadership of the Lutoni. The pack always has some kind of marker to unite it, we chose the collars.'

'Uh-huh.' Téa just felt confused by it all.

'So I guess this means you're the wolves people have been complaining about,' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'I should have known.'

'Should you?' Joey stopped massaging the back of his neck for a moment in order to study his friend. 'Why are you so different?'

Tristan shrugged but didn't answer. Téa couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with him. His coldness might have been in keeping with his new personality, but he could have at least pretended to be a little happy Joey was back. Before anyone could say anything else Natten reappeared. Behind him were two other boys of about the same age, both in black and both wearing collars.

'The pack is waiting for your orders mai sarn,' Natten focused his attention on Joey.

'You are to return to Sil, training is over for the day.'

'Will there be a hunt tonight?'

'I don't know yet, there are a few things I need to do before I can return to Sil myself. It will depend on how long it takes me. You are dismissed.'

Natten bowed and he and his companions once again disappeared into the shadows. For a few seconds Joey again massaged the back of his neck. It was pretty clear, at least to Téa, that he wasn't well. She was about to ask him about it, when he flicked his gaze towards them and a huge grin appeared on his face.

'I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving,' Joey laughed. 'Anyone else up for Burger World?'

* * *

Tristan knew Joey would return eventually, but he still hadn't been ready for him. It made him feel awkward and uncomfortable, just like it had when Joey had started talking in a multi-tonal voice. Every time Joey winced in pain the feelings of dread inside of Tristan stirred and shifted. More so when Joey pulled out a bottle of pills from his pocket and took one before staring down at the burger in front of him. Tristan couldn't help notice the way the other three exchanged glances, but his gaze remained focused on his old friend.

'Joey are you...?'

'Mann, I haven't had fast food in so long.' Joey forced a smile onto his face, cutting Téa's question off as he did.

'Don't you have fast food joints in… where was it you were again?' Duke's voice was attempted a calm-casual, but Tristan could tell it was forced.

'The cities in Sil predate fast food joints,' Joey half smirked, 'building them wasn't exactly a top priority, although I know more than a few bits who disagreed. The younger they are the more they miss home comforts.'

'That's understandable I guess.'

'So did you?' Tristan studied him for a moment.

'Did I what?'

'Miss home comforts?'

For a few moments their gazes locked. The dread swirling around inside Tristan's stomach felt like it was on overdrive, so much so he could have been sick right then and there. Sheer willpower alone kept him from throwing up. Joey was the one to break the gaze, lowering his head and massaging the back of his neck with both of his hands again.

'Stop staring at me like that; you're giving me a headache.'

'I'm giving you a headache?' Tristan laughed in surprise.

'Stress...' Joey murmured before taking the bottle of pills out of his pocket again.

'What are those anyway,' Tristan snatched the bottle out of his hand before Joey could take one.

'Hey, give it back man, didn't your parents ever teach you it's not nice to steal?' Joey snapped his fingers causing the bottle to return to him before Tristan could see what it was.

'Didn't yours?'

'Whatever,' Joey put the bottle back into his pocket without taking any. 'What's with you anyway?'

'I could ask you the same question,' Tristan folded his arms.

'In case you'd forgotten Tristan, I'd left you guys to become co-ruler of a whole new civilisation,' Joey rubbed his temples, 'it's just the tiniest bit stressful. Ergo no sleep and headaches and whatever else goes along with being stressed. Maybe I'm a little more irritated than I used to be, but I think I have a pretty decent excuse, what's yours?'

'Getting Tristan to answer that one is like pulling teeth,' Téa rolled her eyes. 'So how's Catilin doing now anyway?'

For a moment Joey hesitated. Then an almost relaxed smile appeared on his face and he let out an almost exhausted sounding sigh.

'She's not been well, but... she's become like a little sister to me. I mean, there are times when she's hard work, but fortunately for me her dressers take care of most of those times. I think it would be too much for me to handle along with everything else,' he gave an almost muted half laugh, 'but like I said, she's like a little sister to me. She's just so innocent. And sometimes I wonder if she's the only good thing I've got right now.'

'And the darkness in her?' Tristan narrowed his gaze for a moment.

'Gone, at least as far as I can tell,' Joey finally picked up his burger for a bite. 'Hey, I don't remember fast food tasting this good. Maybe I should look at getting a few burger joints onto Sil.'

'And here was me thinking you'd actually grown up a little,' Téa laughed.

'I have grown up a little,' Joey shrugged. 'I didn't really have a choice. You know I thought when I saw all you guys again it would be just like old times. I knew I was changing. That I was different. But I thought friendship was like learning to ride a bike. I didn't realise that in the process of becoming Veronie, I forgot how to be Joey.'

'Don't worry about it,' Yugi smiled warmly at him, 'it's still good to see you again.'

'I've really missed you guys. Being with you again makes me feel almost normal, not that hanging with you Yuug was ever normal, it's just...'

'I think I get it Joey,' he laughed. 'So do you still duel?'

'Might have known that one was coming,' Joey half smiled and lowered his head, 'for obvious reasons duelling is banned on Sil. The game's dangerous to my kind, remember? It's the whole reason we went into hiding in the first place.'

'So you don't duel anymore?' Yugi looked almost disappointed.

'I never said that, did I?' His half smile turned into a smirk.

'No, but…?'

'There's an underground movement, more popular than it probably should be,' he gave a half laugh. 'We know the risk we run in playing the game, but so many of us were duellists first, how can we turn our backs on that?' He paused. 'And recently the movements started attracting non-duellists too. Spectators who'd always had an interest in the game even if they never played it. I mean, we all get why the game had to be banned, but...'

'But...?'

'None of us can truly let go of our old lives and I don't think we're really meant to,' Joey's gaze lowered again. 'That's why...'

'That's why what?'

'One of the kittens heard something about a duel monsters tournament which is about to be held in Domino City,' Joey's face furrowed with thought. 'The Carnitatan was unofficially gathered over it and it was agreed two Silkoneons and two Odraians would be allowed to enter, provided at the first sign of trouble all four pull out.'

'It all sounds really cloak and dagger to me,' Duke shook his head. 'So who's representing the Silkoneons?'

'Well you're looking at one of them,' he leaned back in his seat. 'You didn't think I would miss out on this opportunity, did you? I mean, I'm not only the highest ranking official in the underground movement, but I'm also the highest ranking duellist.'

'So when were you planning to tell us about that?' Tristan narrowed his gaze on him again.

'The tournament hasn't even been announced yet, although my sources say it supposed to be two weeks from now.' Joey fingered the collar around his neck. 'I was planning to surprise you all at the beginning of the tournament; I guess that's out of the question now. But maybe it's for the best; I mean, I've really missed you guys.'

* * *

It was there again. That look. The one which made the blood in her veins turn to ice. Just knowing it was there made her insides squirm and her body tremble with fear. She could still remember the first time she'd seen it. The first moment she realised something wasn't right. She didn't want to believe it was possible, but she couldn't deny what was staring her in the face either. It was a darkness greater than anything she knew and all she wanted to do was make it go away. But no matter how hard she tried and no matter what she did, it kept coming back.

'You still fear me?'

She made no attempt to reply. She didn't want to talk to this time. She couldn't. Because every time she spoke to the darkness it somehow talked her into doing something she didn't want to do.

'You think ignoring me will make a difference, but it won't. You obey me because you want to, not because I force you to. You're like me.'

She shuddered at the words, but refused to reply. How could she? It was just trying to trick her again and this time she wasn't going to be fooled by it.

'I know you can hear me. Just like I know you're listening to every single word I say. And right now I guess that's enough. You're entering the tournament, aren't you? You were selected for your skills, right? Just like we planned.'

'We planned nothing,' she broke her vow of silence, almost instantly regretting it. 'We planned nothing,' she lowered her gaze, 'this is all you. All of it. It has nothing to do with me.'

'Oh but it does, it does. It has everything to do with you. When will you wake up and realise it? You are just like me.'

'I am nothing like you.'

'You are wrong and soon... soon you will know it. But I guess you're not awake yet, so I'll have to continue to wait.'

'Wait all you want, I will never be like you,' she gritted her teeth.

'Then why do you keep helping me?'

'Because I'm afraid,' she gritted her teeth. 'I'm afraid of what you'll do to her if I don't.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Joey had stayed with them until it started getting dark. Once he'd gone the other's decided to walk Duke home and a part of him wished they'd stop fussing. After all he'd finally been given a clean bill of health and although he still didn't quite feel like his old self, he didn't not feel like himself either. Shortly after he'd first woken up Tristan had recited something some guy called Octan had told them; about Duke basically having to re-forge himself from whatever it was the Boy had left behind. It took him a long while to understand what that meant, but now he found it a source of strength.

The new him understood the world in a different way. Saw things in a different way. He felt things differently as well as feeling differently about things. Sometimes it felt like a piece of him was missing, but he never allowed himself to dwell on those thoughts for long. If he did it might make him angry and irrationally moody like Tristan, or...

'Joey's not well, is he?' Téa broke the weird silence which had formed around them.

'He... he's just under a lot of stress right now,' Yugi turned his gaze away, 'that's what he said, right?'

'There's more to it than that,' Tristan folded his arms, 'I can sense it.'

'Of course you can,' Téa rolled her eyes. 'Let me guess, you think it has something to do with this feeling of doom you've been having but won't tell anyone about?'

'Maybe,' he glared at her, 'but I can't have been the only one to think what he said was strange.'

'What he said about what?' Yugi frowned.

'About me giving him a headache,' Tristan tilted his head to one side. 'He said me staring at him was giving him a headache.'

'Yeah, that was weird,' Duke couldn't help but agree. 'And what was the deal with that bottle of painkillers?'

'I don't know. I didn't get the chance to read the bottle before he _magicked_ it back. It was like he was trying to hide something.'

'Come on guys, this is _Joey_ we're talking about here,' Téa gave a nervous laugh, 'quit talking like its some cover-up conspiracy or something. Okay so he's a little different, but he's still Joey and he's still our friend.'

'Téa's right,' Yugi's face filled with an almost forced smile, 'plus didn't he say something about a new duel monsters tournament coming up? I'm sure after a duel or two it'll be like he was never gone. There's nothing better to bring out the old Joey, right?'

'Right,' Téa's face filled with relief. 'I bet you anything the second he straps a duel disk on his arm we'll see the old hot head back.'

'Maybe,' Tristan looked doubtful.

'So who do you think is hosting this tournament anyway?' Yugi tilted his head in thought. 'I doubt it would be Kaiba again, not this soon after Battle City.'

'Well who else could it be?' Duke frowned. 'I can't think of anyone else local with both the power, money and influence to host a city tournament. Other than me, of course, and I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was.'

'What bothers me is how one of his kind knew about the tournament before we did.' Tristan stopped for a moment, forcing the others to do the same. 'I mean, think about everything Joey told us; their kind isn't even supposed to be playing this game to begin with, so how is it they're the ones who know about it? It hasn't even been officially announced yet.'

'That kind of bothered me a little too,' Yugi lowered his head, 'I think Joey might know more about the tournament than he's letting on.'

'Either that or he thinks the lives of his people might be in danger somehow.'

'Do you think that's why unofficial consent was given?'

'No,' Tristan shook his head, 'if there is some kind of threat I think Joey's the only one who's aware of it. I think what he was saying about his people not being able to let go of who they were is true. I think Joey's aware something is wrong, but...'

'But...?'

'I get this feeling his mind is being clouded somehow.'

'The headaches?'

'No, I don't think that's it. He said me staring at him gave him a headache, but being with him made me feel sick. Really, really sick. The second he left that sickness went away.'

'So you think he might be ill?' Téa stared at him. 'So it is the headaches then?'

'I... no... you don't get it.' Tristan's jaw clenched.

'Maybe we would if you actually tried explaining it to us. We're your friends you know Tristan.'

'I don't know how to explain what I don't understand,' he glared at her. 'All I know for sure is that there's something going on here. I... you know what, forget it. I don't know why I bother trying to explain myself.'

Tristan made to leave, but Yugi grabbed hold of his arm.

'You try because we're your friends and that still means something to you.'

'I wish you could just understand how wrong things are,' Tristan turned his head away. 'If you could just understand what this feels like... I want it to stop. I want something to make it stop. To make everything feel right again. But it won't stop and I don't understand why. I don't mean to get angry all the time, but it's so frustrating and I don't know how else to feel.'

'It's okay Tristan,' Téa took a step towards him.

'It's not okay Téa, that's the point, none of this is okay,' his eyes went up towards her. 'All I want is for you to stop asking questions and listen. Even if what I say makes no sense. Even if you don't understand. I don't need you to understand. I don't need you to get it. I don't even need for what I say to make sense. I just need you to listen. Everything is wrong and I just need you to listen. To hear me.'

'But how can we fix what's wrong if...'

'I don't need you to fix it Téa, that's not the point.' Tristan massaged his temples. 'The only thing I need you to do is listen. Because if you listen long enough and hard enough then maybe... maybe I'll be able to figure it out.'

* * *

For a brief moment Joey allowed himself to remember what it was like seeing the Southern Palace like this for the first time. The way he'd noted the overrun nature of the flower bed. The way the building had just felt so huge and overwhelming. Now he could barely remember what it was like living anywhere else and whenever he tried his mind either became foggy or filled with more noise than he could bear.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he sense the presence behind him.

'Again Jay?' Joey didn't even bother turning around, he knew who it was. 'We've talked about this.'

'I just want to see her. Why won't you let me see her?'

'You know why.'

'But it was Octan who...'

'Because of you. Octan did what he did because of you.'

'Then give me an opportunity to prove myself,' Jay took hold of his arm, forcing him to glance back towards him. 'Give me a chance to redeem myself.'

'It's not my place to redeem you,' Joey shook his head, 'only the Mistresses can do that. You're still their Helper, aren't you?'

'They still need me,' Jay lowered his head.

'Only because there is no one else; do you have any idea how long it takes to train a Helper?'

'Do you?' Jay flicked his gaze back up towards him.

For a few long moments their eyes locked. The pressure of noise in the back of his head began forcing its way forward again. Wincing, Joey massaged the back of his neck with both hands. Jay always gave him this kind of headache and Joey just wished he would leave him alone.

'The dead should remain separated from the living Jay,' Joey gritted his teeth. 'Interaction just makes things complicated. You're making things complicated. Go bother the Mistresses; I have no time for you.'

'But...'

'I said go.'

Jay nodded and disappeared. The noise in the back of Joey's head subsided for a moment.

'Damn him,' Joey cursed as he stormed into his home. 'Damn him.'

He headed straight for his bedroom and slammed the door behind him the second he arrived. He knew someone in the palace would comment on it later, but he didn't really care. Jay made him angry. More than angry. He was the reason Octan had acted the way he'd acted. He was the reason Catilin was weak and sick and the living prison of a darkness which should never have been allowed to exist. He couldn't trust Jay. He didn't want to trust Jay. He didn't want anything to do with Jay, yet Jay kept coming. Jay wouldn't leave him alone.

The noise at the back of his head started again. His eyes glanced up towards his bedroom mirror as he gripped his head between his hands. He didn't recognise the person staring back at him anymore. It was like someone had come along and replaced him with this hollow copy of himself. He wasn't the same boy who, just over two months ago, had stood up to Marik in the Battle City finals. He wasn't the same boy who'd challenged Seto Kaiba for the right to third place and had fun loosing.

Fun? Did he even remember what that was anymore? He turned from his reflection with a feeling of disgust as the noise from the back of his head became deafeningly loud. What had happened to him? Why had he become so unrecognisable even to himself? A wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled backwards towards the bed.

'Not again,' he automatically went for the bottle of pills in his pocket, 'please, not again.'

He tried to get the lid off of the bottle, but his hands felt heavy and numb. They refused to do what they were told and in their uncertainty the bottle slipped from his hands. He went to reach for it, but that just caused him to crash heavily to the floor.

'Please no...' the noise, the dizziness, the confusion, it was all too much for him, 'please not again...'

* * *

'This is getting ridicules,' the Pure paced the chamber, 'I should never have agreed to her stupid plan. I should have stopped her.'

'It was her choice,' the Face of Friendship turned her head away, 'and if she didn't...'

'We don't know that. We could have figured something out. They could have figured something out. But, oh no, she had to go and do what she always does.'

'And just what is it I always do?' The First made her way into the chamber.

'Opt for self persecution over common sense,' the Pure folded her arms.

'Is that what you think I've done?'

The Pure stared at her but said nothing. For a few long moments there was silence.

'We need to start replacing them.' The First's voice was as flat as it was capable of being. 'All of them. Even the Helper.'

'Octan won't be happy with that,' the Pure pulled a face, 'and he's been with us for so long...'

'We can't trust Octan anymore,' the First half turned away, 'and I don't like Jay. It's his fault...'

'You're being too harsh sister,' the Face of Friendship cut her off, 'Octan did what he did out of love. He never meant for things to end up this way; he just wanted to help Jay.'

'He was supposed to be our Helper; he had no right interfering in the mortal world.'

'Then it was our mistake for letting him. Because we did let him sister, don't forget that.'

'Always the mediator, aren't we little sister?' The First narrowed her gaze. 'Okay, so maybe we shouldn't have agreed to him becoming a part of Jay, but Jay was the one who corrupted Octan. If it wasn't for him...'

'I know you're all eager to get rid of them, but right now we don't have anyone ready to just step in and fill their shoes,' the Pure interjected. 'We're going to be stuck with them for a while regardless, so we just need to find someone worthy of being trained up as our replacement Helper.'

'Do you have anyone in mind sister?' The Face of Friendship turned towards her.

'I think we've all had someone in mind,' she exchanged glances with both of them. 'You know, the one we've been keeping around. The one we've prevented anyone else from taking. We all saw his potential. We all knew he would eventually replace one of the Guardians.'

'Yes, but only once he'd been dead for long enough to understand how things work,' the First shook her head. 'What good is potential if he's not even close to being ready for this kind of responsibility? We've never allowed someone so newly dead to become a Guardian before.'

'Yes we have. Octan.'

'That was different.'

'Maybe, but it sets precedence. I'm willing to take the chance sister,' the Pure's eyes locked with the First's, 'are you?'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The noise started off at fever pitch, causing his head to throb and ache with pain. As his mind pulled further into consciousness the sound died away until it was little more than background noise in the furthest recesses of his mind. His eyes slowly opened and he found himself almost blinded by the light streaming in from the gap between his curtains. He groaned at the uncomfortable feeling of the hard floor beneath him; he'd been lying on it far too long and it left his body bruised, stiff and awkward. He groaned again before groggily pulling himself to his feet and making his way across to the wash basin on the other side of the room. He splashed his face with cold water before staring up at his reflection.

'It happened again, didn't it?'

The sound of her voice made him jump. His eyes slid towards the figure now hovering in his doorway. In the early morning light she looked both bewildered and pretty at the same time; like a worried little girl who'd just woken up from a bad dream. He turned away from her again and splashed his face with more cold water. Nothing felt real enough yet for him to deal with anything.

'Ver...' he heard the patter of her feet as she made her way into the room.

'Is Cat okay?' He cut her off.

'She's still asleep. I wanted to check on you before she woke. You didn't come to see me last night, I guess now I know why.'

For a few moments there was silence. Then the slow, tinkering sound of water being poured into a glass made him glance towards her again.

'Here,' she held out the glass and a couple of painkillers for him, 'you should take these. It'll help.'

He took them off her and automatically did as she instructed. All the while his gaze remained perfectly trained on her. She looked vulnerable and afraid, as though something bad were happening. It was the way she looked whenever she helped him like this and he wasn't sure he knew why.

'I'm starting to think I should see a doctor about this,' he slid his gaze away from her again. 'It's getting to be a little too much for me. I can't live like this.'

'I know,' her arms slid around his waist, 'I don't like seeing you in this much pain, but it's just stress.'

'I'm not so sure anymore Ahna.'

There was another silence, broken by her heavy sigh.

'Do you think I'm a good person?'

'I wouldn't let you anywhere near Cat if I didn't,' Joey idly stroked her hair.

'You can be a good person and not be good all the time though, can't you?' There was a worried tremor in her voice. 'I mean, I don't want to do bad things... I don't want to hurt anybody, ever, but sometimes... sometimes people don't have a choice, do they? Sometimes good people have to do bad things because they don't have a choice.'

'Sometimes...'

'You know I'd never do anything bad if I had a choice, right?'

'Ahna, I told you, you're a good person. I wouldn't let you anywhere near Cat if I thought you were capable of hurting anybody, never mind put you in charge of her care. I rely on you so much...'

'I know you do,' she buried her face into his chest and he could feel the dampness of her tears soak into his top. 'Do you love me?'

He didn't reply. Instead he slid his gaze towards the window. There were no words in his head. Nothing he wanted to say. Nothing he could say. He left the question hanging in an awkward silence and wished things could just remain the way they were.

'Why won't you tell me you love me?' Her voice trembled with tears.

'Shh...' he hushed her, 'shh...'

* * *

The two weeks had passed almost too quickly. The announcement of the tournament, the buzz of excitement and anticipation, the curiosity about who was hosting it had put time on fast forward. Before Yugi had a chance to get his head around what was happening, he found himself stood with his friends under the big clock in the town centre waiting for Joey to arrive. Téa was the first to spot him and a smile of relief washed over her face as she waved. Yugi couldn't help but wonder if her relief was because Joey had actually shown up or that he'd traded his all black outfit back in for his white t-shirt and blue trousers.

'Still with the dog collar I see,' Tristan tilted his head to one side as Joey joined them.

'Cuffs too,' Joey tugged and the black and silver bracelets around his wrists. 'You're in a better mood today.'

'So are you,' Tristan shrugged and half turned away from him, 'I guess either we've both been looking forward to this or the last two weeks have been less stressful.'

'Or both,' Joey's face filled with his familiar goofy grin, 'so how is everyone anyway?'

'Glad to finally have the old gang back together.' Téa laughed. 'Better still everyone's acting reasonably normal, a new duel monsters tournaments about to start and there's not one bad guy or dark force in sight.'

'Just because they're not in sight doesn't mean they're not there,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'It just means we haven't seen them yet,' Joey nodded in agreement.

'Wow, when did you two become such enthusiastic optimists,' Téa shook her head and sighed. 'So do you know who the other three are?'

'Other three?'

'The others who were allowed to enter the tournament.'

'The two Odraians are called Kikay and Paten; their names were submitted to me weeks ago.' Joey gave a strange half laugh. 'The Odraians always like to be over prepared I guess.'

'And the other Silkoneon?'

'I don't know,' Joey frowned. 'The other Silkoneons in the underground had a harder time deciding who to enter, since there's a lot of good duellists amongst them. The last name submitted to me was that of a buck called Conker, but... whether or not it's still him.'

'Isn't that something you really should have checked?' Tristan shot him a strange look.

Yeah,' Joey's expression twisted with confusion, 'I don't know why I didn't.'

There were a few awkward minutes of silence, during which Yugi found himself studying Joey closely. It was pretty clear his friend was concerned about his oversight, but at the same time...

'What are we waiting around here for,' Joey whole body was suddenly filled with excitement, 'I've got a tournament to win.'

'So you're feeling pretty confident then?' Duke smirked. 'Guess that's nothing new.'

'Of course I'm confident, Yugi and I are going to wipe the floor with the competition, isn't that right Yuug?'

'That's right Joey,' Yugi nodded.

'So what are we waiting around here for? There's supposed to be this stage in the park where everything's kicking off, let's get going already,' Joey started walking before the others could say anything else.

'I should have known a duel monsters tournament would bring the old Joey back,' Téa grinned as she and Duke started after him.

Yugi flicked a glance in Tristan's direction. There was something about the look on his face which made Yugi worry.

'Tristan...?'

'Too much energy...'

'What?'

'I'm probably just being stupid here and maybe because Joey was so... you know, the last time we saw him I expected him to be like it again today.'

'And you're worried because he's not?' Yugi frowned.

'I told you I was probably being stupid, right?' Tristan shook his head. 'Look, I can't explain it, I just get this feeling like that's borrowed energy somehow.'

'Borrowed how?'

'I don't know,' Tristan massaged his temples, 'it's just this feeling I get.'

'Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, right?' Yugi attempted to smile at him. 'We should probably catch up with the others now.'

'Yeah,' Tristan returned his weak smile, 'we sure as hell aren't going to find out what's going on here, right?'

'Right,' Yugi laughed, 'come on.'

It didn't take long for them to reach the stage and locate their friends. Once they had Yugi spotted a familiar, tall and moody looking figure, dressed in a sleeveless white studded trench coat standing amongst the waiting crowd.

'Kaiba?' Yugi approached him. 'Are you entering this tournament too?'

'For a shot at your title Yugi, I'd enter anything.'

'So do you know whose running this thing then?' Duke nodded in greeting as he and the others joined them.

'Some newly rich gaming punk calling himself Master D. apparently, though I couldn't help but notice he's too afraid to enter his own tournament. Coward.'

'Nice to know some people haven't changed,' Joey rolled his eyed.

'Nice to see the duelling dog has finally returned home to his master,' Kaiba smirked, 'Yugi must be so happy.'

'I'm not a dog Kaiba,' Joey growled.

'Then what's with the dog collar Wheeler?'

'I'm not a dog Kaiba, I'm a wolf and you'd better watch out cuz this wolf's not afraid to bite.'

'That's the most pathetic thing I think I've ever heard you say and you've said a lot of pathetic things.' Kaiba folded his arms.

'You're not even worth the breath,' Joey turned away from him. 'But mark this rich boy, by the end of this tournament we'll see who's top of the food chain.'

'Please.' Kaiba moved away from them.

'He should know better than to insult a wolf,' Joey eyes shot daggers after him.

Before anyone could comment a loud fanfare brought their attention towards the stage. A short, pale faced kid, with long black hair and piercing dark eyes stood in the centre of the stage. His all black ensemble was capped off by a long hooded cloak, the hood of which hung between his shoulder blades. The boy was also wearing black eyeliner and nail polish to enhance his sinister and creepy appearance.

'And just when I thought we weren't gonna run into any more freaks.' Téa muttered under her breath.

'Welcome duellists to the Tournament of D.,' the boy began in a voice more powerful than his slight stature promised, 'I'd like to welcome you on behalf of my master, Master D.'

A small platform began to rise from the stage to the right of him. On this platform stood an impressive looking cup and leaning against the cup was a duel monsters card.

'This, my friends,' he pointed towards the platform, 'is what you are all competing for. The prestigious Cup of D and a never before seen, one of a kind, all powerful card, known as the Shadows to Light.'

As soon as the card's name was mentioned a deep growl emanated out of Joey.

'Are you okay?' Yugi leant towards him.

Joey didn't answer; his gaze remained hard and fixated on the card.

'In just a few moments the tournament will begin and in forty-eight hours it shall end with the victor receiving the cup and card upon this stage. Remember this is a knock out contest, so the first duel you lose, you're out.' The boy's eyes circled them all. 'So without any further ado, let the tournament begin!'

Another fanfare sounded and the excited duellists and spectators began to fan out from the stage.

'Looks like this tournament is underway,' Kaiba glared at Yugi as he made his way passed the group, 'I'll be back to deal with you later, but first I want to knock out some of these other pathetic fools. So don't you go losing in the mean time, got that Yugi? I'm the only duellist here allowed to beat you.'

'He really doesn't change does he?' Duke cocked an eyebrow as he stared after him.

'I don't think he knows how to be any other way,' Tristan folded his arms as his eyes moved between Joey and the stage.

Joey's eyes continued to focus on the card as it disappear back under the stage. His eyes then flicked up to survey the kid, who had been watching Joey with the same intensity Joey had been staring at the card. As soon as their eyes met the kid quickly turned away and left the stage.

'Are you okay Joey?' Yugi placed a hand on his arm.

'I'm fine Yuug,' he smiled tightly, 'just a little anxious to get this tournament underway is all.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah, I'm sure,' he nodded.

'So I guess it's time to split up for a while then.'

'I guess it is. After all, if it's going to be me and you in the finals we need to get rid of the competition first, right Yuug?'

'Right.' Yugi grinned.

'So I'll catch you guys later.' Joey turned to leave.

'Wait a minute Joey, I'm coming with you,' Tristan almost jumped into place beside him.

'Why?'

'Yugi doesn't need all three of us cheering him on,' he shrugged. 'Why, don't you want me around?'

'Whatever, just remember if you're cheering for me you're actually cheering for me,' Joey shot him a look, 'none of that pessimistic cheerleading you're so very good at.'

'He's even better at it these days,' Téa rolled her eyes, 'you haven't lived until you've heard his angry _everything is wrong_ cheer.'

Both Tristan and Joey shot Téa a different kind of look. Yugi felt himself squirm a little, with the way Tristan had been the last few months it probably wasn't the best idea in the world to leave him alone with Joey. Especially if he was right about this new burst of energy Joey was having being _borrowed_, the situation could turn disastrous very quickly. But he couldn't exactly stop Tristan from going with Joey just because he had his concerns, that would just set Tristan off again and he'd been almost back to his old self the last couple of weeks.

As he watched the pair of them leave, Yugi prayed nothing would upset the relative calm of the tournament. Something told him it was going to be too much to ask for. Joey and Tristan were right about one thing, just because they couldn't see the evil didn't mean it wasn't there. Only time would tell just what darkness lay beneath the surface or even if there was any at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

At the same moment in time Joey had growled, Tristan had figured out exactly what it was bothering him about his friend. The feelings of dread inside of Tristan hadn't been swirling. The sick, awkwardness, strange doubts and concerns he couldn't fathom were completely absent. Whatever strange energy had gripped Joey had somehow temporarily suppressed whatever it was inside of him which made Tristan's feeling of dread act up. Then Joey growled and at that moment every single confusing inch of it had come back like a shot and soon after it was clear Joey's headaches had also returned.

Neither of them talked about it. Neither of them really talked at all, Joey made sure of that. He went from one battle to the next without taking enough of a breath in between to even say hello to his next opponent. And what's more, Joey was on a roll, with four clean victories in a row. His determination and drive were as impressive as the marked improvement in his duelling skills, but they both knew he was just trying to avoid having a conversation neither of them wanted to have.

Hot off his fifth victory, Joey turned off onto one of the smaller paths. For a few long moments they were completely alone and Tristan began to wonder if maybe this was the time for them to break the silence between them. He was just working out where to begin when a familiar voice cut through the air. A strange smile pulled across Joey's lips and without hesitation he ran off in the direction of it. Tristan gave a heavy sigh and followed, as much as he didn't want to have the conversation he knew it couldn't be put off forever either. This was just another delay and one Tristan could only guess Joey was grateful for.

It didn't take long for the owner of the voice to come into view. Mai Valentine, as scantily dressed as ever, was just finishing off some poser in a brown suit. Joey stopped just short of the duel field and stared at her. The look on his face said it all; the dopey expression of teenage lust having spilled over into love. Tristan let out a heavy sigh and for a moment felt a strange kind of relief.

'Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes.' Mai laughed as she turned round to face them. 'Although you are looking a little worse for wear, are you okay?'

'Just a little tired,' Joey shrugged, 'you're looking good.'

'Of course I am,' she posed for him, 'you don't think I've spent the last couple of months lying around feeling sorry for myself, do you? A girl can gain a lot of strength recovering from an ordeal like the one I went through.'

'So I see,' he smirked as he watched the man she'd just defeated walk away. 'How many victories does that make it now?'

'Three. What about you, how are you doing?' She eyed up his duel disk.

'You're looking at someone with a five duel streak.'

'Looks like I've got some catching up to do,' Mai laughed, 'don't think I'm going to let you get too far ahead of me Joey Wheeler.'

Joey went to reply, but before he could say anything someone else's voice sounded from behind them.

'Veronie I've found you, finally.'

Tristan turned to see a slight looking girl of about fifteen, dressed in a crisp white dress and sandals. A passing breeze caused her long brown hair to dance around her whilst her deep brown eyes fixed themselves on Joey.

'Veronie, you forgot to take this with you this morning,' she pulled a bottle containing a deep purple liquid out of her shoulder bag.

'I didn't forget,' Joey's slid his gaze away from her, 'I told you I don't like the way it tastes.'

'We've talked about this,' she forced him to take the bottle off of her, 'you allowing yourself to get dehydrated isn't helping with the headaches.' She lightly brushed some of the hair back from his forehead. 'I know you hate me fussing, but I'm only doing this for your own good.'

The glint of jealousy which appeared in Mai's eyes in that moment told Tristan all he needed to know.

'Is this a friend of yours Joey or a subject,' Mai's voice was curt to the point of cruel.

'Oh hey there,' Ahna turned her attention towards Mai. 'You must be one of Veronie's old friends, he's told me so much about you,' an almost cruel smirk pulled at her lips, 'you're Téa, right?'

'No, I'm Mai.'

'Mai… Mai… nope don't think he ever mentioned you.'

'Stop being so childish Ahna,' Joey shot her a look, 'you know who Mai is.'

'I'm sorry Ver,' she lowered her gaze, 'I don't know what got into me.' She turned her attention back towards Mai. 'It's so nice to finally meet you Miss Valentine. My Veronie is really rather fond of you.'

'Your Veronie? What do you mean?' Mai's face filled with confusion as she turned her attention towards him. 'Joey?'

He lowered his gaze and turned his head away. There was a deep and almost deafening silence and Tristan felt the dread within him grow. There was something about Ahna, just like there'd been something about Catilin. It made his whole body feel tense and the continuing silence really didn't help.

'Joey...' Mai's voice trembled a little, 'who is this girl?'

'Veronie, are you ashamed of me?' The girl's eyes went towards him.

'No, of course not,' Joey's gaze remained averted.

'Then why don't they know about me? Why haven't you told them I'm your official mate?'

'She's your what?' The tone in Mai's voice was almost unreadable.

'She's my official mate,' Joey gave a nervous cough, 'and... Ahna and I... we... we are to be married.'

The silence which followed was almost oppressive. Tristan wanted more than anything to back away from it somehow, but he knew that was impossible. His eyes moved from Joey, to Ahna and then to Mai. Any idiot could see which of the two Joey would rather be with, so why was he committing himself to this practical stranger?

'Don't you think you're both a little young to get married,' Tristan's jaw line hardened a little, 'you're only seventeen and she's, what, twelve?'

'Sixteen, actually,' Ahna pulled herself up to her full height, 'and we have to be the ones to set the example.'

'What example?'

'Civilisations don't rebuild themselves Tristan,' Joey's voice sounded more than a little dry, 'they have to be encouraged. We have to be the ones to encourage them. We have to set the example.'

'Well,' Mai's voice was so tight Tristan was surprised any words came out at all, 'I hope you'll both be very happy together. As for me, I have duels to win. It was nice seeing you again Joey, excuse me.' With that she hurried away.

'Mai, Mai wait,' Joey took a few steps after her, but Ahna caught hold of his arm.

'Have your duels been going well Veronie?' Her fingers twisted around the sleeve of his shirt.

'Yeah... they have...' he continued to stare after Mai.

'You... you must be thirsty by now,' Ahna's gaze turned towards the bottle Joey was holding, 'you should drink something.'

'Stop fussing,' Joey began massaging the back of his neck, 'you should be back home looking after Catilin anyway.'

'I know, but she wanted to know how you were doing and you forgot your drink so... I didn't think it would hurt. I mean, it's not like I'm her only dresser you know.'

'No, but you're the only one I trust completely,' Joey forced her gaze up towards him. 'She's so much calmer when you're around. You're the only one who really knows how to take care of her. I'd be lost without you.'

A small smile pulled at the edges of Ahna's lips as an almost sad expression filled her face. As he went to brush some of the hair out of her eyes, she pulled away from him.

'Promise me you'll drink something soon, yeah? I really should get back to our sarn.' With that Ahna slowly disappeared.

'Whatever you're about to say, don't,' Joey half glared at Tristan. 'I don't want to hear it.'

'I'm not particularly sure I want to say it either,' Tristan folded his arms. 'You don't love her.'

Joey shrugged and started walking. Tristan sighed and fell into step beside him.

'So we're back to the no talking, right?'

Joey avoided answering his question by unscrewing the bottle Ahna had given him and taking a long swig of the purple liquid. As he pulled the bottle back from his mouth he pulled a face and followed it up with a noise of disgust after he swallowed.

'You know if you don't like it you could have just poured it away,' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him. 'It's not like she'd know the difference.'

'She's just trying to look out for me,' Joey screwed the lid back on the bottle, 'and I'm kind of getting used to the weird taste.'

'What's in it anyway?'

'I don't know,' he shrugged, 'some vitamin or other to make the headaches go away. Ahna's Dad was a pharmacist or something and she was planning on being a nurse before she found out she was Silkoneon.'

'Is she the one who's been supplying you with painkillers?' Tristan felt something unsettling form within the dread swirling inside of him.

'Just what are you implying?' Joey frowned. 'I trust Ahna, she's a good person.'

'I seem to remember you saying the same thing about Catilin right before she went all psycho on you.'

'That was Jay's fault.'

'No, it was Octan's,' Tristan gritted his teeth.

Joey was just about to argue something back, when a scrawny youth appeared in the path a head of them.

'Looks like the prey just caught the predator.' The boy grinned as he activated his dueldisk.

'Or maybe the predator just led the prey into a cleaver trap.' Joey smirked as he activated his own dueldisk. 'Are you ready for this Paten?'

'Duel!'

* * *

Mai did her best to suppress the feelings of hurt moving inside of her. She knew Joey was right, that he had a responsibility to his people. She should have expected something like this to happen eventually, but for it to happen so soon with no prior warning? Who was this girl Ahna to him anyway? Just some wispy little stray worming her way into a position of power? She didn't know Joey, so how could she make him happy?

Her train of thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of the boy who'd opened the tournament. He had a dueldisk strapped to his arm and his black cloak blew in the wind around him.

'Mai Valentine.' His eyes focused on her.

'How do you know my name?' She took a few steps back.

'My master wants you out of the way.'

'I don't…'

'I'm sorry,' the kid activated his dueldisk, 'but I can't disobey my master. I am not a cruel person. Believe me I'll get very little satisfaction out of doing this, but I have no choice. I'm powerless in the face of my master's wishes.'

'Look kid, you shouldn't have to do anything you don't want to,' Mai activated her own dueldisk. 'I don't know who this master of yours is, but if they're telling you to do bad things, maybe you should just tell them where to shove it.'

'You don't understand, it's not that simple.' The kid shook his head. 'They have this power over me. A power I don't understand. Believe me I'm a good person, but I can't disobey my master, no matter how I feel about it.'

'Then I guess it's time to duel.'

'I'll go first,' the kid drew his card, 'I lay one monster face down in defence mode and play the Shadowy World magic card.'

'Shadowy World? What's that?'

'It's a field magic card,' the area around them began to fill with a dark mist, 'it allows me to automatically play my Creatures from the Shadows card.' He activates another card and a three headed lion like monster appeared on the field. 'So long as this card is in play you are unable to attack me directly. Your move.'

Nodding, Mai drew a card.

'I summon my Amazon Warrior to the field in attack mode and lay two cards face down. Now I attack your face down monster with my Amazon Warrior.' The Amazon Warrior's attack destroyed the kid's defence monster. 'I end my turn.'

The kid drew a new card and his eyes went large as he saw what it was.

'I'm so sorry Mai,' he swallowed visibly hard as he slotted the card into one of his magic/trap slots. 'Believe me I was hoping things wouldn't play out this way, but I have no choice. I play the Light to Shadows magic card.' A bright light filled the field. 'I'm sorry, but I have no choice.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

She ran her fingers along the cage bars as she slowly made her way down the line. Every single unconscious body made her insides cringe. She hated this. She hated what she'd done. Yet at the same time she didn't feel anywhere near as guilty as she'd expected. It was as though someone had come along and sucked away her guilt, leaving her with nothing more than a sad feeling of emptiness. Emptiness and hatred for what she was doing.

'I'm sorry,' she gave a heavy sigh, 'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean... What the…?' Someone in one of the end cages made her double take.

'Bait,' the darkness's voice sounded from behind her, 'a lure for your next opponent.'

'But…?' She spun round.

'Did you really think your day was over?' the darkness laughed. 'Now go make the call,' a video phone in the corner of the room became circled in a strange halo of light, 'you know what to do.'

'I don't want to.'

'You don't want to?' The darkness laughed again, this time the sound was almost deafening. 'You say you don't want to do any of it, yet you still do it anyway. What does that say about you?'

'It says that you're controlling me somehow.'

'No, it's says you're just like me. Here, you'll need this,' the darkness tossed a duel monsters card at her feet, 'It'll give you the edge you need to win, just don't forget to use it.

* * *

The first day of the tournament had gone exactly as planned. Soon it would be time for him to take on Yugi once more and this time he was going to win. Kaiba was just coming up with the perfect strategy for taking Yugi down when the video phone on his desk started ringing. He gritted his teeth and ignored it; now was not the time for distractions. There were several beats of silence after the last ring, before the phone sounded again. This time Kaiba picked it up and hung it up in quick succession. But no sooner had he replaced the handset then it started ringing once more.

With no option left but to admit defeat Kaiba answered the phone.

'Who the hell is this and what the hell gives you the right to call me on my personal number?'

'Seto?' The image of his younger brother appeared on the screen in front of him.

'Mokuba,' Kaiba frowned and glanced for a moment towards the door, 'I thought you were in bed already. What are you doing out this late?'

'I went for a walk after dinner and got a little lost. Now I'm in one of warehouses down by the docks.' He glanced about.

'I didn't know any of those warehouses were equipped with video phones,' Kaiba's frown deepened, 'are you sure that's where you are?'

'I'm pretty sure, but I'm not sure I can find my way back home from here. Can you come get me?'

'I'll send a limo for you.'

'No Seto, I... I want you to come.'

'I'm a little busy right now Mokuba.'

'Please Seto I... I need you to come.'

Something wasn't right. From the moment Kaiba had answered the phone he knew something wasn't right. The idea of his brother going out for a walk and getting lost on the streets of a city he could have mapped out blindfolded when he was the Battle City Commissioner was almost impossible to believe. Someone or something had his brother; the only question now was why.

'Alright,' his jaw hardened, 'I'll come.'

'Thank you.' Mokuba hung up.

Kaiba made it halfway across the room before returning to his desk to grab his deck and his dueldisk. He had this strong feeling he was going to need both. After all, anyone stupid enough to kidnap his little brother was also foolish enough to think they could beat him in a duel. It was up to Kaiba to correct them of that little delusion and let them know no one... _no one_ was allowed to mess with his family.

It took him just over ten minutes to reach the docks. As he got out of the car he spotted his brother standing in the doorway of one of the warehouses. He was there for less than a second before disappearing inside. It was almost too obvious now that someone was using his brother as bait. Kaiba felt a shiver of annoyance move through him as he entered the warehouse. Inside it was dark, lit only by external lights filtering in through the dirty windows. Along one wall Kaiba could just about make out a line of cages.

'I'm so glad you came Seto,' his brother's voice floated out of the darkness.

'Enough of this,' Kaiba turned a full circle, 'I know you've kidnapped my brother so show yourself already.'

'I'm sorry.'

Without warning a bright light flashed on above one of the cages. For a moment Kaiba found himself blinking against it, then he spotted the unconscious body inside and his heart began to pound heavily in his chest.

'What the…?' Kaiba rushed towards the cage. 'Mokuba? Mokuba can you hear me? Mokuba who did this to you?'

'I'm sorry Seto. I'm so sorry,' his brother's voice sounded from behind him. 'I have no choice, I have to do this.'

'Who are you?' Anger flooded through him as he spun round. 'And what did you do to my brother?'

There were a few moments of silence, then a figure melted their way out of the shadows. Kaiba felt his eyes almost pop out of his head when he saw who it was. His eyes glanced back towards the body in the cage and back again several times, but there was no mistaking what he was seeing.

'Mokuba? But... but how?'

'I'm sorry Seto,' the conscious Mokuba lowered his head, 'but I had no choice; I had to trick you. It was the only way to get you here.'

Kaiba stared at him, trying to figure out if this was really happening or not. Then he gritted his teeth and allowed his righteous anger to be unleashed.

'I want to know who you are right now you impostor.'

'I'm sorry Seto I really am,' the imposter flicked his gaze up towards him, 'but the only name I can give you is that of your brother, any other and I'm afraid he might get hurt.'

'What did you do to him?' Kaiba glared.

'I didn't do anything to him,' he shook his head, 'it was my master.'

'Your master?' Kaiba snorted in disgust. 'And let me guess, he wants me to duel you?'

'Yes,' he activated the dueldisk on his arm, 'I'm afraid it's the only way to get your brother back.'

'Fine, but I want you to show me who you really are first.' Kaiba activated his own dueldisk. 'You have no right to impersonate my brother like that.'

'I'm sorry, but my master won't allow that.' The fake Mokuba slotted his deck into his dueldisk. 'Either you duel me like this or you forfeit, those are the rules.'

'Fine,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'it's time to duel.'

* * *

It was late when Joey and Tristan finally arrived outside of the game shop owned by the Motou family. Plans had been made for everyone to stay the night there, though whether or not Joey actually did was still to be seen. His conversations with Tristan throughout the day had been stale and staggered. The only time Tristan had come even close to engaging him in something less frivolous was when they were talking about Ahna and Joey had refused to allow him a second chance at that.

'Check that out for timing,' Joey focused his attention on Yugi, as he and the others arrived from the opposite direction. 'Hey Yuug, how'd your duels go?'

'Great, yours?'

'I'm still in the tournament, aren't I?' He laughed. 'What's more I also managed to knock out both Odraians already. Still haven't come across the other Silkoneon yet, but that's what tomorrow's for, right?'

'Right,' Yugi grinned at him, 'come on, let's go inside.'

The noise buzzed at the back of Joey's head as he and the others entered the flat above the game shop. It wasn't enough to make his head swim, but he found himself sinking down onto the couch with exhaustion all the same.

'Mann this place is exactly as I remember,' Joey massaged the back of his neck as his eyes examined the Motous' living room. 'And since top ranked duellists need their sleep during tournament season I hereby bagsy the couch for the night.'

'And here we were thinking you'd changed,' Téa rolled her eyes, 'as if that was possible.'

'Well I guess there is still some of the old me left after all.' Joey reached into his pocket for his painkillers. 'It's nice to know I'm not all headaches and responsibility.'

'I'll fetch you a glass of water,' Yugi disappeared into the kitchen.

'Have you been getting a lot of these headaches?' Téa frowned at him as they waited for Yugi to return. 'I mean, maybe you should see a doctor, it could be something serious.'

'It's just stress,' he took the glass off Yugi the second he returned and downed two of the tablets at once. 'I've not been sleeping well and when I have been sleeping I've not exactly felt rested for it.'

'Again, maybe you should see a doctor.'

'I think seeing a doctor is the least of his priorities right now,' Tristan folded his arms and perched on the window frame. 'His _priorities_ are all on Sil, where he's being so well taken care of.'

'Tristan...' Joey glared at him.

'Well how else am I going to get you to talk to me?' He shifted his gaze away.

'I really don't think I like this new you very much.'

'I'm just worried about you, it's not my fault if this _new me_ can't express it very well.'

'We're all a little worried about you Joey,' Yugi jumped in. 'I mean, you're looking pretty wrecked. I know you said it's just stress, but maybe you should get yourself checked out.'

'Preferably by someone who isn't Ahna,' Tristan half glared at him.

'Tristan!' Joey couldn't believe his friend had just dumped him in it like that.

'Who's Ahna?' Téa frowned.

'Yeah Joey, who's Ahna?' Tristan's half glare turned into a full on glower. 'Why don't you tell them what you in your infinite wisdom and responsibility have gotten yourself into?'

Joey felt all eyes turn towards him and for a moment he couldn't help but squirm. He'd figured out from his last visit the new Tristan was a little on the dark and moody side these days, but he didn't expect his friend to turn full traitor on him like this. Then again he had been denying Tristan the chance to talk all day long, so maybe in a way he'd asked for this.

'I'm getting married.' Joey sighed and massaged his temples.

'What did you say?' Duke blinked at him.

'I'm getting married.'

'Sorry what?' Téa half laughed. 'I'm not sure I heard you correctly.'

'I said I'm getting married,' he shot looks at all of them, 'and if you ask me to repeat it one more time I swear I'm going to scream.'

'You're getting married?' Téa's half hung open. 'When? To who?'

'When hasn't been decided yet,' Joey sighed again, 'but probably sometime after my eighteenth birthday. Her name's Ahna Crovell, she's a Silkoneon with a lioness Sintoy. She's sixteen but you wouldn't know it to talk to her. I mean, she's a lot more mature than I am and so focused too. She wanted to be a nurse. Maybe she still can be one day; I mean I'd never stop her. She's kind and patient and so good with Cat; she's indispensible. And I really mean that, I don't think I would have made it through the last couple of months without her.'

'So you decided to reward her with a marriage proposal?' Duke cocked an eyebrow. 'Because you know a lot of the nurses I dealt with whilst I was running back and forth to the hospital all the time were exactly as you've described Ahna, but that doesn't mean I want to marry them.'

'She's a good person,' the voices in the back of Joey's head started buzzing more insistently. 'I like having her around. She's good for Cat and I guess she's been good for me too. I don't know how things developed between us exactly; I just know it's not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I'm helping to rebuild a civilisation here, I can't afford to...'

'To what exactly?'

'To over think whether or not something is the right thing to do.' Joey shrugged.

'Silkoneons don't marry out of convenience,' Yugi's eyes glanced up towards Joey in a way to let him know the Pharaoh had taken over. 'It's the reason Simüte held off as long as he did. He refused to marry for anything less than love because he saw what a curse it was for Lilly.'

'You think I don't love her?' Joey lowered his head.

'Do you?'

Joey shrugged and wished he knew how to answer that question. In the whole time he'd been involved with Ahna he'd never spoken those words. He knew he cared about her. He knew he would be happy enough to spend his life with her if he had to. Maybe in its own way that was love, but...

'I don't think I'm allowed the luxury of falling in love,' Joey massaged the back of his neck again.

'You sound like my mother,' the Pharaoh shook his head. 'Joey...'

'Look, whatever happens happens,' Joey cut him off, 'maybe I am making a huge mistake, but... It's my mistake to make. I'd rather we stop talking about this and order some pizza or something, I'm starving and I've got a wolf's appetite.'

* * *

The whole room felt like it was giving a heavy sigh as his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Out of the air a single duel monsters card appeared and floated soundlessly down next to the body. It was enough to cause shivers to run up and down the lookalike's spine.

'Pick it up,' the darkness hissed around her, 'it's part of your deck now.'

'No. No it was a dirty way to win. I don't deserve that card.'

'Stop fighting it. Stop resisting what we both know lurks inside of you. You earned that card, just like you earned the darkness building around your soul.'

'No,' the lookalike trembled, 'I am a good person.'

'Foolish child, look around you, look at everything you've done.'

'It's what you made me do.'

'But I'm not forcing you to do it. I'm not controlling your actions. You've chosen to obey me, because you know... you know you're exactly like me.'

'No.'

'I'm getting tired of waiting for you to wake up. What's it going to take to make you see the truth?'

'I'm a good person...'

'No, you are the darkness, just like I am. And I need you to wake up.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They were about halfway through their pizza fest when the noise at the back of Joey's head started pushing its way forward. He winced and fumbled his hands into his pocket for his bottle of painkillers. This action caused them to fall away from him and roll under the coffee table. He half got up to get them but in that moment a strong wave of familiar dizziness hit him. He was only saved from going head first through the coffee table by Tristan catching him.

By this time the noise in his head was unbearable. His eyes went up towards Tristan and he could see his friend's mouth moving but he couldn't make out a word of what he was saying. Joey's dulled instincts told him to try for the painkillers again, but Tristan forced him to sit back down on the couch. It felt like everyone was crowding around him now. Their mouths flapping open and closed, but their words were drowned out by the noise only he could hear.

He closed his eyes and willed for the darkness to come and take the noise away. Consciousness slipped quickly from him as he fell back into the silent depths of his mind.

* * *

'What's going on down there?' The Pure's eyes met with the First's. 'I thought you said the problem had been dealt with.'

'It had.'

'Then why...?'

'I don't know,' she cut her sister off, 'maybe this is something else.'

'Funny, because it feels the same to me.'

'Yes, because we all know how objective you can be.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Sisters, please,' the Face of Friendship gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her forehead, 'fighting will get us nowhere and I don't much feel like playing the rope in your tug of war match again today. The way I see it First you're too close to what's going on to see it and Pure you're too far away. It's time we... tested our new recruit.'

'It's only been too weeks,' the First shook her head, 'he's nowhere near ready for something of this scale.'

'How can you say that when you don't even know what the scale is?' The Pure folded her arms. 'Unless you know I'm right and...'

'It worked. I'm sure it worked. This has to be something else. And that's not what I meant. I don't think he's ready for anything yet.'

'We could always send Jay.'

'No. No he doesn't get to come anywhere near this.'

'Then we'll have to send him, because there is no one else.'

* * *

A deep groan pushed its way out of him as he became aware of the voices again. Their noise began to settle to background level as his mind pushed its way back to consciousness. He opened his eyes to see the concerned faces of his friends staring down at him. He groaned again and half wished they would go away.

'How long was I out for?' The words forced their way out of Joey's mouth.

'About an hour and a half,' Téa's face was filled with concern. 'I wanted to call an ambulance for you, but...' her eyes turned towards Tristan.

'Thanks,' Joey tried to avoid looking directly at him, 'you did the right thing.'

Tristan shrugged but said nothing.

'Joey, maybe you should see a doctor. I mean, if these headaches are making you pass out...' Téa placed a hand on his arm.

'It's just stress Téa. Stress and exhaustion. I think it's my body's way of telling me I need sleep.'

'Has it happened before then?'

'A few times,' he ran his fingers back through his hair.

'Just how many times is a few?'

'I don't know, about once a week.'

'For how long?'

'The last two months or so,' he turned away from her, 'look it's really no big deal.'

'No big deal; Joey you're passing out, that's not normal.' Téa looked almost horrified. 'You really, really need to see a doctor about this.'

'No, I really, really need to get more sleep and less stress in my life.' Joey gritted his teeth. 'I'm fine.'

'Joey...'

'If Joey's so tired, maybe we all should get some sleep now,' Tristan cut her off. 'We can have the rest of the pizza for breakfast tomorrow, before we leave for the tournament. I mean, it's late, right? Yugi and Joey need their sleep if they're going to stand a chance of getting into the finals, right? So why don't we get some sleep.'

Joey found himself staring at Tristan. There was something in the way he was talking which almost sounded like his good old self, but there was something about what he was saying which told Joey this was just a front. Tristan knew something the others didn't; it had to be the reason why he refused to let Téa call an ambulance. Not that Joey wasn't grateful; the hospital was the last place he wanted to be, but now his gratitude was rolling over into more than mild curiosity.

'Tristan,' he focused his gaze on his old friend as the others started settling down for the night.

'Get some sleep Joey,' Tristan didn't bother looking at him.

'But...?'

'We had all day to talk,' Tristan's voice was flat and almost devoid of emotion, 'you chose not to and now I'm choosing the same.'

* * *

Tristan had barely slept all night. The second Joey had passed out the night before he became all too aware of what was wrong with him. It was like this sick feeling which snuck inside and wouldn't let go until Tristan understood every single inch of it. It still clung to him because he didn't yet understand every single inch of it, but he knew enough. Enough to settle the sickness to a background level, even if that background level just caused it to swirl around with the existing feelings of dread.

Morning had not come soon enough. As the others chatted and handed out slices of cold pizza Tristan did everything in his power to avoid catching Joey's attention. He knew... just like he'd known the day before... they would have to talk eventually. But the conversation wasn't exactly the one Tristan thought he was going to have to have. He assumed Joey knew what was going on, but little things had started hinting otherwise and now... now Tristan was sure Joey didn't have a clue.

With pizza well and truly finished off they made their way back towards the park the tournament was taking place in. As soon as they arrived a black limo pulled up for them.

'Hey, which of you is Joey Wheeler and Yugi Motou,' a kid of about twelve pushed open the back passenger side door and leant out towards them.

'We are,' Yugi pointed towards himself and Joey.

'Hi, my name is Boris, I've been told you guys have to get in now.' He grinned. 'Apparently we're being taken to the location of the finals. Here,' he handed over a slip of paper.

'Greetings to three of the remaining six duellists,' Yugi read, 'at my request you are being taken to the docks where the final duels of today's tournament will take place. Yugi you are duellist one, Boris two and Joey three, these numbers have been randomly selected and are no reflection of your duellist levels. Remember your numbers. Upon arriving at the docks you will see signs directing you to where your first duels of the day will take place, follow only the signs with your numbers on. When the outcome of these duels has been decided, you shall proceed to warehouse 62 where the remaining three duellists will compete for the top spot. These duels shall be done where the first two duellists to arrive shall duel and the remaining duellist will play the winner. Good luck. Master D.'

'That's a strange way to finish the tournament,' Tristan frowned.

'No stranger than anything else about this tournament if you ask me,' Duke shrugged.

'That's what I thought,' Boris grinned at him, 'so are you guys getting in or what.'

'All of us?' Téa shot him a curious look.

'So long as you other three aren't duellists I don't see why not,' Boris shrugged. 'You're not duellists, right?'

'We're cheerleaders,' Téa squeezed past him, clearly wanting to get in before he could change his mind.

'Cool, do you mind maybe cheering for me too? I could use all the courage I can get. This is my first proper tournament and I almost can't believe I'm in the finals.'

'That's pretty impressive,' Téa grinned at him as the others made their way into the limo, 'I'm sure I've got enough cheer to spread around.'

Tristan rolled his eyes and bit his tongue against the sheer number of things wrong with Téa's statement. Almost as soon as he pulled the limo door shut behind him, the vehicle started moving. Tristan focused his attention out of the window and allowed his mind to drift slightly. If he zoned out enough then the others wouldn't talk to him, experience taught him that. Experience also taught him it made time go faster and before he knew it the cab pulled to a stop.

'Well I guess this is it huh, Yuug?' Joey pulled himself out of the limo.

'Yeah,' Yugi nodded, 'it should be interesting, if nothing else.'

They all piled out of the limo and Tristan found himself sticking close to Joey. He didn't know whether or not they would get the opportunity to talk before Joey's duel. He didn't even know if he wanted to talk. But he did need to know there was the possibility, so following Joey wherever the mysterious Master D was about to send him was an imperative. The '3' signs eventually led them into a well ventilated storeroom inside one of the warehouses. A girl of about fifteen with fire red hair was waiting for them.

'You brought a cheerleader,' the girl laughed, 'how cute.'

'Hey, when you're as good as I am they just line up to cheer you on,' Joey smirked. 'So are you ready to duel?'

'I sure am,' she laughed, 'but don't let the lack of a pep squad fool you, I've made it this far, haven't I?'

'I guess you have,' he activated his duel disk. 'So what's your name?'

'Hannah and your Joey Wheeler right, Duellist Kingdom and Battle City finalist. Most people I know follow the winners, but I think your duelling career is just fascinating.' As she spoke she activated her own duel disk.

'Is that a compliment or an incredibly deceptive insult?'

'You decided. Now let's duel.'

Tristan barely had time to watch them draw their opening hand when something told him they weren't alone in the storeroom. A heavy sigh pushed its way out of his body as he glanced around for whoever or whatever it was watching them. It didn't take him long to spot the black hair sticking out from behind one of the stacks of boxes. For a few moments Tristan debated whether or not it was worth ignoring them or not. After all, he didn't exactly have anything to gain from drawing this unknown into a conversation, but at the same time...

He edged round the storeroom and leant himself against the boxes. For a few long moments he was silent, waiting to see what the black haired observer was going to do or say. There was nothing and the silence quickly bothered him.

'You know I know you're there right?'

'I know.'

The second he heard the guy's voice Tristan knew he recognised it from somewhere. It was enough to make him glance round and actually see the guy's face.

'You're SK, right? The Kaiba boys' cousin.'

'Yeah,' he gave a nervous laugh as his tongue skated across his lips, 'you're that Tristan guy, right? The one who's... different.'

'Great,' Tristan folded his arms, 'just the reputation I wanted.'

'It might not be such a bad thing; from the way you've been spoken about you might be much more suited to my job than I am.'

'And what job is that exactly?'

'You're looking at the Mistresses newest Guardian,' SK licked his lips again, 'whatever that means.' He sighed. 'They kept me hanging around for months, getting me to run these little errands for them. I think they saw me as kind of a secretary, at least that's what Jay says. Then,' he shrugged, 'next thing I know Jay's giving me a crash course in the history of the multiverse and what it means to be chosen by the Mistresses and... Well it's been just over two weeks and my head's still spinning from it all.'

'So I take it you're here because of them then?'

'Something's happening. Some kind of evil or darkness or whatever they're not too sure about. They need me to... evaluate the situation for them.'

'And have you.'

'I don't even know where to start,' SK sighed and licked his lips again. 'I was hoping...'

He cut himself off and gave a nervous laugh. Tristan drew a deep breath in and allowed his gut to guide the conversation.

'He doesn't know, does he?'

'Know... know what?' SK edged away from him.

'There's something else in him. Something else inside of him.' Tristan flicked his gaze towards Joey. 'He doesn't know; that's why he's fighting it.'

'I... how...?'

'This thing sharing his body, does it have something to do with them... the Mistresses?'

'You don't...' SK licked his lips once more, 'you don't know what it is?'

'No,' Tristan shook his head, 'all I know is that it's there and it makes me... I don't like the feeling it gives me.'

'I... err... I'm not sure I can tell you anything about it,' SK turned his gaze back towards Joey. 'I mean... well... I really don't know the rules on this one. All I was told was to come here and investigate, but without a starting point...'

'Your starting point is probably this Master D guy, the one who's actually hosting this tournament. You'll probably find him in warehouse 62, that's if he can be bothered to watch the finals of his tournament since he wasn't there for its kick off.'

'Thanks,' SK licked his lips and grinned, 'I knew there had to be a reason for me to come here.'

'Just the one,' Tristan followed SK's gaze back towards the duel.

Joey had just summoned his Red Eyes Black Dragon and the Hannah girl was activating some kind of trap or spell card, Tristan really didn't care enough to find out which.

'It really is a fascinating game, isn't it?' SK half glance towards Tristan.

'It can be, when the right people are duelling.'

'I never had any interest in it in life. But then, I was never able to see beyond my own research. But now... Death really does change everything.'

'Hmm,' Tristan half lowered his head.

There were a few moments of silence; then SK gave another heavy sigh.

'The... the First wanted me to tell Joey to stop fighting it,' SK's voice was little more than a gritty whisper. 'Fighting it isn't just making him sick; it's starting to kill him. If he stops fighting he will adjust and things will get better.'

'How did I know you were going to tell me something like that?' Tristan shook his head. 'Then again I already figured out fighting it was what was making Joey sick. That and whatever it is that Ahna chic has him taking.'

'Yeah, the First would really appreciate it if he stopped taking those. They're just making things harder for him.'

'The First seems to have a lot of interest in Joey right now,' Tristan felt something in his head click into place.

'Yeah... well... if you could pass her message on for me, I really should be going now.' SK's tongue ran across his lips several times in nervous succession. 'Warehouse 62, right?'

'Right,' Tristan smirked as SK disappeared, 'see you there.'


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Just the sight of the warehouse caused a shiver to run up and down Téa's spine. She didn't know what it was about the place, but it felt as though it were looming over them somehow.

'Man that place looks creepy,' Téa wrapped her arms around herself, 'are you sure that's the right one?'

'62,' Duke pointed to the painted numbers above the half open doors, 'this is the place.'

The Pharaoh, who Téa noted taking over Yugi's body at the start of his duel with some kid named Ryan, calmly led them inside. Normally his presence was enough to calm any unreasonable nerves she might have about what was happening, but this time... She shuddered.

'There's something not quite right about this place,' Téa found herself hanging back at the entrance. 'I mean, it's all dark inside and stuff, don't you think they would have given you a little light to duel with?'

'Maybe it's for dramatic effect,' Duke smirked. 'Or maybe whoever got here before us thought it would be funny.'

'Whoever got here before us...? You mean we're not the first to arrive?'

'Of course you weren't,' a familiar laugh shot across the air towards them, 'although I hope you're not insulting my integrity as a duellist by implying I would try to pull some kind of childish prank. The lights were off when I got here, so you can't accuse me of anything.'

Téa frowned into the darkness, partly to try and make out Kaiba and partly because the way he was talking didn't sound quite right. It was his voice, his arrogant intonations, but there was something about the way he spoke which didn't ring true; like he was trying to do some kind of poor imitation of himself. The three of them moved further into the darkness of the warehouse and just as Téa began to wonder if someone had maybe forgotten to pay the electric bill a thin shaft of light illuminated a figure stood at the top of a pile of crates.

'Is that Kaiba?' Téa's frown deepened.

Just as there hadn't been something quite right about the way he'd spoken, there was also something not right about his appearance. Cautiously the group approached him and with every step Téa got a clearer picture of what was wrong.

'Is it just me or didn't Kaiba used to be taller? A lot taller I mean.'

'I'm starting to get the feeling that's not Kaiba.' Duke folded his arms.

'Who are you?' The Pharaoh's eyes lifted to meet with the half-sized Kaiba's as he jumped down from the crates and landed neatly before them.

'Yugi I'm offended you don't recognise me,' he smirked, 'I'm Seto Kaiba, the duellist who's going to strip you of your title.'

'Look kid, I don't know what stunt you're trying to pull here, but Seto Kaiba is a little taller.' Duke shook his head. 'No wait, make that a lot taller. You're only just the same height as Yugi, so believe me when I say you're fooling no one.'

'Who are you really, tell me?' The Pharaoh's hands balled into fists.'

'Right now I'm Seto Kaiba and I'm challenging you to a duel,' the Kaiba lookalike activated his duel disk.

'All right I'll duel you,' the Pharaoh automatically activated his own duel disk. 'But when I win you will tell me who you really are, you imposter.'

'This imposter word is branded around far too often these days,' the mini-Kaiba smirked. 'But never mind, it's time to duel.'

'Draw.' The Pharaoh drew a card. 'I play the Mystical Elf in defence mode and lay two cards face down. Your move.'

'Draw. I play the Battle Ox in attack mode and end my turn.'

'The real Kaiba would never leave himself wide open like that,' Duke rolled his eyes, 'this imposter is an amateur.'

'I don't think so.' Joey's voice sounded from behind him.

Téa turned to see Joey and Tristan entering the warehouse. In the time since the mini-Kaiba had been revealed, several more lights had turned on. The edges of the warehouse were still shrouded in shadows, but the walkway to the duelling area was now fairly well lit.

'That so called imposter up there is no amateur,' Joey folded his arms.

'But that's such an amateur move,' Duke shook his head, 'even Tristan would know better than that.'

'Watch it,' Tristan glared at him.

'What do you know about this guy Joey?' The Pharaoh shot a look in his direction.

'There's a duellist in the underground movement who's known as the Copycat. No one knows who they really are, but they've made a name for themselves for two reasons. The first from mastering the Glamour technique and using it to turn themselves into a mirror of their opponent. The second is for being the only duellist other than me to have never lost an underground duel.'

'And you believe this fake Kaiba is your Copycat.'

'I'm certain of it,' Joey's gaze fixed his gaze on the mini-Kaiba. 'The other unique thing about the Copycat is their refusal to change height no matter how much taller or shorter than them their opponent is. It's why I know for sure they didn't just learn to Glamour well, they mastered it.'

'But if the Copycat normally turns themselves into a mirror of their opponent, why are they currently a miniature Kaiba?' Duke cocked an eyebrow.

'That's what I'd like to know.'

'As fascinating as your little conversation is, we're here to duel, not to chat,' the mini-Kaiba kept his gaze trained on the Pharaoh. 'It's your move Yugi.'

'I know. Draw. I sacrifice the Mystical Elf in order to summon my Dark Magician Girl. Now my Dark Magician Girl attack his Battle Ox.' Doing as she was told Dark Magician Girl sent an orb of dark energy towards the opposing monster, wiping it clean off of the field. 'I end my turn.'

'Draw.' The Copycat smiled. 'I play the Shadowy World magic card,' the field started filling with a dark mist, 'this allows me to automatically play my Creatures from the Shadows card,' he activated another card and a three headed lion-like monster appeared on the field. 'So long as this card is in play, you are unable to attack me directly.'

'How…?' Joey's face went pale.

'And since my Creature from the Shadows was a special summon I'm free to play the Squire of Dragons in attack mode.'

A human shaped monster dressed in medieval style clothing appeared on the field. Téa half found herself taking several steps back in shock as the familiar blue eyes of the Squire stared around the room in confusion.

'Yugi?' The Squire's gaze locked with the Pharaoh's. 'Where's Seto? What happened to my brother?'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

'Is this some kind of sick joke?' Joey growled at the mini-Kaiba.

Confused, the Squire followed Joey's gaze.

'Seto?' He gasped. 'But you're not… No!'

'What is this exactly,' Joey fumed, 'some kind of payback for what the Standings did to our people?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' The Copycat remained focused on his opponent.

'Yugi,' the Squire turned back towards the Pharaoh, 'I think this creep beat my brother last night.'

'Mokuba,' now it was the Pharaoh's turn to speak, 'what happened to you? How did you become like this?'

'I don't know. I don't remember much about yesterday.' The Squire stared down at the ground. 'But I do know the last time he summoned me it was in a duel against my brother. I know I'm powerful for a four star monster, but Seto had his Blue Eyes on the field.' He blinked back tears. 'The look on his face when he saw me... I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. He froze up and then he got angry and started shouting at this guy who looked exactly like me. Saying it was bad enough battling an imposter without him playing a trick like this. The guy said if he was so sure it was a trick why didn't he attack me. I told Seto it was okay, that he should attack me, but... I guess he couldn't do it. And I think that's what this creep was hoping for,' he glanced back towards the fake Kaiba, 'that Seto wouldn't attack a duel monster who looked like his brother. How else could anyone have beaten him?'

'You're sick you know that?' Joey glared at the mini-Kaiba. 'You're sick. This is sick. How can you do this? Just what kind of monster are you?'

'My turn isn't over yet,' the Copycat ignored him, 'I have one final card to play, the Light to Shadows card.'

Instantly a bright light filled the playing field.

'No! No! No!' Joey pulled at his hair. 'You traitor, you traitor. You evil little traitor. I hate you!'

'You think I'm evil?' For the first time the mini-Kaiba's calm mask began to falter as he stared down at Joey.

'Only an evil person could do something like this.'

'But I... I...' his head moved almost vacantly from side to side, then he appeared to force himself to look away and harden his jaw line. 'You don't know what you're talking about and I believe me and Yugi are in the middle of a duel here.'

'I don't know what I'm talking about when I call you evil?' Joey laughed with disgust. 'You're the one playing the Light to Shadows card knowing full well what it does. If you're not evil, then I pray to all the gods I never meet something that is.'

'I don't understand Joey,' Téa frowned, 'what exactly is so bad about that card?'

'I think I can answer that one.' A figure appeared beside Joey, causing him to start more than a little.

'SK?' The Squire stared down at his cousin.

'I can't believe I'm seeing this.' He shook his head before licking his lips nervously and casting a glance towards Joey.

'So what does the card do?' Téa asked again.

'Jay told me about it when I started asking questions about the connection between the Silkoneons and duel monsters,' SK licked his lips. 'See the Light to Shadows card is one of a pair used to capture and release souls from the game of duel monsters. It might sound a little incredible, but the loser of this duel will become a new duel monster card.'

'What?' Téa's gaze shot towards the Pharaoh.

'Who in their right mind would create a card like that?' Duke glanced back towards SK, who licked his lips nervously again.

'The First…' Joey stammered, 'she... she made it and Shadows to Light card to reverse it.'

'But why?'

'I don't know. I just... I just found them in my chamber one day with this note saying I had to keep them safe. And I thought I had. I didn't think... I didn't think anyone knew where they were but me. But...' he gripped his fingers into his hair, 'I don't... I don't remember... I don't remember what I did with them. I... I just remember thinking they were somewhere safe.'

'It's not your fault Joey,' Tristan gritted his teeth, 'it's hers.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' SK licked his lips as he shot a look in Tristan's direction.

'I...'

'Enough, I believe it's still my turn.' The mini Kaiba cut him off. 'My four star monster is stronger than your Dark Magician Girl Yugi, how do you feel about that?' He laughed. 'I attack your monster with the Squire of Dragons.' Against his will the Squire ran forward and attacked the Dark Magician Girl, wiping out a hundred of the Pharaoh's life points. 'I end my turn.'

'Draw.' Yami drew a new card. 'I play one monster in defence mode and end my turn.'

'Draw.' The mini Kaiba smirked. 'Well this is interesting. You might even say it was the card I was hoping for, because this is going to make things so much fun. I play my Cost Down magic card in order to summon the Blue Eyes Knight.'

A knight in a shimmering blue and white suit of armour appeared on the field.

'Kaiba are you okay?' The Pharaoh stared at the Knight.

'What's going on, what's happening to me?' The Knight stared down at his hands, then towards the Squire at his side and then back at the mini version of himself stood behind him. 'This has to be some kind of bad dream.'

'I'm afraid it's no dream Kaiba.'

'You did this to me, didn't you?' He glared at the Copycat. 'You're the same punk who kidnapped my brother last night, aren't you?'

'Maybe there's some hope for him yet,' Tristan murmured as he folded his arms.

'From what I've seen of my cousin he probably still believes this is a dream and is just going along with it,' SK shook his head before focusing his attention on his cousins. 'Mokuba, Seto, everything's going to be okay, I promise, just hold in there, okay?'

'You again,' the Knight returned SK's gaze.

'Long time no see cousin.' He licked his lips. 'I'd ask how things were going but I have to report this back to the Mistresses, see...'

'No!' Joey cut him off. 'You have to stay. You have to watch the end of this duel. Those are your orders. I...'

But before he could finish what he was saying, a bright light illuminated the far wall revealing a line of cages filled with unconscious bodies. Several of the bodies looked familiar but there was only one the whole group's eyes seemed to be drawn to. Joey's jaw dropped so far open it almost fell off its hinges.

'I don't believe this,' he shook his head, 'Mai!'


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Tristan positioned himself beside SK as Joey ran towards the cage Mai was in. He watched as his friend desperately tried to prise the door open only to start slamming his fists against the bars in desperation.

'Mai? Mai are you alright? Speak to me Mai, what did that creep do to you?'

'Very nice Wheeler,' the Blue Eyes Knight rolled his eyes, 'I believe mine and Mokuba's bodies are in there too, how about showing us a little respect?'

'Mai,' Joey ignored him, 'I won't forgive myself if that evil little wretch has hurt you. I'm sorry Mai. I'm so sorry; I can't believe he did this to you. I can't believe one of my own kind could do something like this.'

Tristan's gaze shifted towards the mini-Kaiba. Cracks were appearing in his expression again. Cracks of hurt which trembled across his face in a pitiful manner.

'Mai, I swear... I swear I'll make that bastard pay for what he's done.' Joey slammed his fists against the bars again. 'I'll get you out of there. I'll save you and then I promise I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that evil little wretch pays for what he's done to you. I promise you Mai, he'll pay for what he's done.' A single tear rolled down his face and landed in the dirt below his feet.

'I'm not evil,' the trembling in the mini-Kaiba's expression filtered down through his whole body.

'Not evil,' Joey turned on him, 'you have my Calcanto trapped in a cage, her soul no doubt in your deck along with countless others and you're telling me you're not evil?'

'I'm not evil,' the mini-Kaiba's eyes began to water, 'I didn't have a choice. I had to do it. I swear I didn't want to.'

'You think I believe that?' Joey glared. 'You expect me to believe someone is forcing you to act this way?'

'I'm not evil,' tears began to roll down his cheeks, 'I'm not.'

Joey turned his back on the mini-Kaiba and began whispering something into the cage. Tristan's eyes moved between the two of them. A picture was starting to form inside his head, but he didn't have enough of the pieces to know what it was yet.

'Look at me,' the mini-Kaiba wiped the tears away from his eyes as his jaw hardened.

Joey ignored him and continued to whisper something to the unconscious Mai.

'Look at me.'

Again Joey ignored him. The mini-Kaiba's expression began to tremble again, only this time the hurt was mixed with a strange level of anger.

'Don't look at her look at me!'

'Why should I look at the face of evil?' Joey's voice was almost devoid of emotion.

'Because I'm not evil.'

Joey laughed and kept his back to the mini-Kaiba.

'I'm not evil Veronie,' his voice trembled around the edges, but his expression was set firm. 'You told me I wasn't evil.'

'What?' Joey finally turned to face the mini-Kaiba.

'You told me I wasn't evil. You told me I was good. And when I asked you if good people could sometimes be made to do evil things and still be good, you said they could. I'm not evil. I don't want to do this. I just don't have a choice. Look at me. See me. Tell me I'm not evil. Because I'm not evil Veronie, I'm not.'

For a few long moments there was an almost deafening silence. Tristan lowered his head and waited as the final few pieces of the puzzle slotted into place.

'I... I... No...' Joey shook his head as he continued to stare at the mini-Kaiba. 'No... no this isn't happening,' he began pulling at his hair. 'It can't be you. It can't be you. Not you. Please, don't tell me it's you.'

'I'm sorry Veronie, I'm so sorry.'

'No... no... please... please don't let it be you.'

* * *

Kaiba was pretty certain he was either having some kind of weird dream or else this whole situation was a massive trick. Well maybe not the whole situation, just the part where someone was forcing him and his brother to cosplay duel monsters he'd never even heard of. He found himself watching with disgust at the conversation unfolding between his impersonator and Joey. He didn't know what connection they had to each other, but he wished the miniature version of himself would be a little less emotional about it. Even if everyone in the room knew the imposter was just that, it didn't look right for his face to be showing so much distress. It made Kaiba feel weak by association. And if there was one thing Kaiba hated more than anything else, it was feeling weak.

'How can it be you,' Joey took several hesitant steps towards the imposter. 'How can it be you?'

'I had no choice. I didn't want to do this. Any of this. But I had no choice. I'm good. You told me I was good. You promised me I was good.'

'No,' Joey shook his head, 'this has to be some kind of mistake. It can't be you. It can't.'

'Veronie...'

'How could you lie to me,' the words burst with such angry force out of Joey, Kaiba was half surprised his head didn't explode. 'How could you make me believe you cared about me?'

'I... I do care... I...'

'Don't lie to me,' Joey crammed his hands over his ears, 'I can't stand to hear any more of your lies. How...? How could you trick me like this? How could I not have seen what was going on? I...'

His features became as pale as they were twisted as he lowered his arms from his head. For a few tense moments there was silence, then Joey reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. For a moment Kaiba frowned at the apparently irrelevant gesture, then its meaning hit him.

'What are these really?' Joey's voice was little more than an angry whisper.

'I...' the mini-Kaiba's mouth opened and closed as he slowly shook his head.

'What. Are. In. These? What are they?'

The mini-Kaiba just stared at Joey. His eyes were so wide they looked unnatural within his borrowed feature.

'I asked you a question Ahna,' Joey's jaw hardened with rage, 'what are in these?'

When the mini-Kaiba's silence continued, Joey threw the bottle at him. Kaiba wasn't sure if he thought the violence was unnecessary or not. He knew if he'd just discovered someone close to him had been drugging him for who knows how long he'd probably be pretty pissed off himself. Then again, he wouldn't be stupid enough to get himself into that situation in the first place.

'I trusted you Ahna,' Joey began to pace, his gaze fixed on the mini-Kaiba as he did. 'I trusted you and you rewarded that trust by making me sick, by betraying your own kind, by... Catilin,' he stopped pacing and took a few more agitated steps towards the imposter, 'so help me Ahna if you've done anything to hurt her...'

'I haven't,' as the mini-Kaiba shook his head he turned into some brown haired girl the real Kaiba had never seen before, 'I swear to you... I would never hurt her.'

'Like your word means anything right now.'

'I wouldn't... I wouldn't hurt her... She... she means everything to me... she's like my sister. All I ever wanted to do was help her. Protect her. Don't you understand? I had to do this, I had to... for her.'

'Just what are you trying to say?' Joey's temper appeared to half subside for a moment.

'I'm a good person. I had no choice. I had to do this. It would have hurt her if I didn't. Don't you understand? I did this to protect her.' She took half a step towards Joey. 'I'm a good person. Please. Please tell me I'm a good person.'

'How can I? How can I tell you you're a good person after everything you've done?'

'I had no choice Veronie, please.'

'You had a choice Ahna; you could have told me what was going on. If you were being threatened you could have told me and I would have helped you. Instead you chose to give into this... this _evil_. You chose this Ahna. You chose evil. You are evil.'

'No,' her eyes brimmed with tears again, 'I'm not evil. I'm not. Please... please tell me I'm a good person.'

'I can't...'

'Veronie... please...'

'I can't lie to you, not like you did to me.' Joey turned away from her. 'God I thought you were in love with me. All those times I felt so guilty because I couldn't tell you what I knew you wanted to hear... all those times you cried because I chose silence over answering your question... none of that was real, was it? It was all a lie; a way of manipulating me when the _drugs_ weren't enough.'

'No,' Ahna took another half step towards him and reached out a hand, 'no, I... I didn't mean it like that, I...'

'You never said it.' Joey glanced back towards her. 'It was always implied, but never said. You were always more concerned with getting me to say it. Why? Why did you need me to say it? Was it some way of knowing I was completely under your thumb?'

'Veronie...'

'Why did you need me to tell you,' in the blink of an eye Joey appeared directly in front of Ahna and gripped her arms. 'If you weren't in love with me, why did you need me to be in love with you?'

'You... you... I...' she lowered her gaze.

'Look at me Ahna,' he shook her, 'look at me and tell me why you needed me to be in love with you.'

'Because I... because I knew you could only love a good person,' her lip trembled. 'I needed you to tell me I was a good person. I needed to know you believed with all your heart that I was a good person. Because I...' her voice squeaked, 'I am a good person. And I was frightened and stupid and... and that made me do terrible things. But I knew... I knew you could keep me a good person. I knew if you loved me I could never be evil. Veronie,' she reached a hand up to touch his face, but he pulled away, 'I care about you, a lot, that wasn't fake.'

'But you don't love me?' Joey turned from her again.

'I don't know. I've spent so long just feeling frightened and guilty and... I don't know what I feel. But I... I do know you... you're the only one... the only one... the only one who can make this right. You're the only one who can fix this. Fix me. Make... make the bad go away. Make the darkness go away. That's why... that's why it wanted you numb, blind, because it knew the same thing I did. You have such a good soul; the power from you is... blinding. And now... now I know what I have to do.'

Ahna turned her attention back towards Yugi. For a long couple of minutes she just stood there, then she drew a jagged breath in and placed her hand over the life point counter on her duel disk.

'I surrender.'

* * *

The second Ahna had spoken all monsters vanished from the field and her body fell lifelessly to the ground. In the split second which followed Tristan watched a duel monsters card flutter down beside her. There was something awful about the silence which filled the warehouse. It made the dread within Tristan dance the conga in anticipation.

'The Lioness Knightess,' Joey picked up the duel monsters card, 'well I guess you deserve this.'

Tristan was almost surprised by the level of affection Joey showed Ahna, as he stroked the hair back from her face and placed her soul card into her hand. It was almost enough to contradict the anger he'd shown less than five minutes ago. Then he spoke and the tremor in his voice said more than his words ever could.

'How could you do this to me? I trusted you. I trusted you with everything I had and this is how you repay me. How could you make me so stupid?'

'Should I…?' SK took a few steps towards Joey. 'Should I go report this to them now?'

Joey remained silent, his gaze still fixed on the unconscious Ahna.

'Joey I... I can't…' he licked his lips, 'I can't leave until you let me.'

'I don't have that kind of power,' Joey's voice was strangely mute, 'only the Mistresses can tell you what to do.'

'I... uh... well... under the circumstances I thought... I mean...' SK gave a nervous laugh. 'What... what do you... you want me to tell them?'

'Shouldn't that be your decision,' Joey frowned at him. 'You're supposed to be their Guardian, not me. I'm just a mortal, my opinion doesn't matter.'

'Yes... well... I... I mean...'

'Oh for god sake SK, just tell him,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'Tell me what?' Joey's attention turned towards him. 'What's going on? What do you know?'

'Tristan it's not our place,' SK shot him a look. 'I've been told...'

'To hell with what you've been told,' Tristan folded his arms, 'he needs to know.'

'Tristan...?' Joey stared at his friend.

'I believe there's supposed to be a tournament going on or do none of you want the Shadows to Light card,' a voice half hissed its way out of the shadows. 'Because I have no objection to those trapped by its opposite remaining as cards if you don't. And I must say this little floor show you're putting on for me is very entertaining. Granted its lacking blood, insanity, random acts of cruelty... you know, the light Saturday night put your feet up kind of stuff, but still it's _very_ entertaining.'

'Who are you?' Joey glanced around. 'Show yourself.'

'Oh no, see I can't do that until a victor is declared.'

'Then I forfeit, Yugi wins, now show yourself.'

'Default, such a disappointing word,' the voice taunted, 'such a dull and boring way of ending this little competition. Do me a favour and at least hit someone for me. You know, a good hard jab, maybe enough to cause a little internal bleeding. It can be anyone you want, even Ahna. It would definitely be a better way of ending this then by forfeit.'

'I'm not here to entertain you,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'now show yourself.'

'As you wish,' a figure began to pull themselves out of the shadows, 'it's been a while,' a cruel smirk pulled across their sickly pale face, 'did you miss me?'


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

All eyes were fixed on the sickly figure which emerged from the shadows. Joey's stomach clenched and unclenched several times as the noise at the back of his head started buzzing.

'Catilin... but I... I don't understand... I... I thought...'

'You thought a faulty cage could hold me?' Catilin laughed.

'I...'

'Don't you get it? This sickness is like a gap in the bars, enough for me to reach my hand through and grab at things. Weapons. Keys. Whatever tool it takes to get myself out again.' A dark smile spread across Catilin's face. 'I got lucky with the first tool I found,' her eyes turned towards Ahna, 'so easy to use and so many ways I could use it.'

'Like you used that child to kill the other Guardians?' The Pharaoh shot Catilin a look.

'No,' she shook her head, 'I can only slip a hand through, I can't use any of my powers.'

'So Ahna willingly did your bidding?' Joey's gaze flicked between the two women.

'I don't know if willing is quite the right word from the amount of bitching she did about each and every task I asked her to perform.' Catilin chuckled. 'You should have heard her resistance; it was like watching someone slowly losing their mind. There was something so thrilling about it. I mean, I know I'm an expert at driving away a person's sanity, but normally I'm inside their head. Now I'm not saying I don't enjoy it, but there's something so artificial about an insanity I've placed there. But with her,' her eyes flickered with excitement, 'I don't think I've ever had so much fun.'

'What do you want?' The Pharaoh took a step towards her.

'I want the walls of the cage to come tumbling down,' Catilin wiggled her fingers in as she spoke, 'I want my freedom.'

'And what makes you think we'll do that for you?'

'Because I'm the one with this, remember.' She held up the Shadows to Light card. 'It's the only way to reverse all the damage that's been done, unless of course you want to leave them all that way and let me have my fun.'

The noise in the back of Joey's head became louder. It was now edging on the point of making him dizzy, but for once he could still hear everything going on around him. There was something strange about the sensation, almost welcoming. For a moment Joey couldn't help but wonder why he'd found it so hard to live with, then his eyes moved towards the bottle of pills he'd thrown at Ahna. He'd first turned to them because he didn't understand what was happening to him, they numbed his brain and stopped him from being able to think clearly. It was as though someone had thrown him into a never ending cycle just to stop him from understanding what was really going on.

'So what do you say Veronie,' Catilin broke the silence which had formed, 'are you going to let me out of my cage.'

'Why are you asking me,' Joey's gaze went up to meet hers, 'I don't have that kind of power.'

She gave a breathy half laugh, but said nothing.

'Those pills Ahna provided for me, they were your doing, weren't they?'

'Yes.'

'Why? To make me easier to manipulate? So I wouldn't notice what was really going on? Or... or because you were trying to turn me into a cage?' The noise in his head was almost overwhelming, yet Joey somehow could still concentrate on what was happening.

'I wondered how long it would take for the irony of the gesture to be found on you,' Catilin smirked, 'and _she_ would consider herself better than me. But if she really were better than me she would have told you she'd set up home in your body, instead she acted like a parasite the way I did.'

'You're right, she did. She acted exactly like you. But she wasn't the one making me sick. She wasn't the one forcing me to push her away.'

'Nobody forced you to do anything Veronie; you chose to push her away. Every single time you took one of those pills you were choosing your own life over hers.'

'I wasn't thinking clearly then,' Joey shook his head, 'but I am thinking clearly now. Clearly enough to know what needs to be done.'

'So you'll free me from my cage?'

'To get back control of the Shadows to Light card, I'll do what needs to be done.'

'Joey you can't seriously be suggesting giving into that monsters demands,' the Pharaoh gawked at him.

'I'm doing what needs to be done.'

The noise inside Joey's head was starting to make him dizzy, but he wasn't fighting it this time. And because he wasn't fighting it he was able to think clearly; much more clearly than he had for a long time. Whatever fog had pulled over his mind and blinded him from the truth about Ahna and Catilin had finally lifted. He knew what needed to be done. He knew what _she_ wanted him to do.

'Joey...' SK edged towards him.

'I know what I'm doing SK,' he shot a look towards him.

'But...'

'I know what has to be done.'

A cruel laugh rippled out of Catilin, forcing Joey's attention back towards her. The noise inside his head was starting to fill him with a wealth of knowledge. Things he'd only half understood before were a lot clearer now. He knew what it was controlling her, just like he knew what he had to do.

'Summon him,' Catilin folded her arms, 'summon the Blue Eyes Knight. It took three of you to make the cage; it'll take three of you to break it apart again.'

'Joey, don't do this,' the Pharaoh gritted his teeth as Joey bent down to reach Ahna's deck.

'I have to Yuug,' Joey refused to look at him, 'don't you get that?'

'I don't get why you would choose to help a monster like that. After everything we've been through I would have thought...'

'Yugi, this is what has to be done,' Joey's gaze lifted to meet with his. 'Don't you get that?'

'Joey's right,' Tristan's voice was strangely calm, 'this _is_ what has to be done.'

A part of Joey didn't know if he was glad of Tristan's support or not; it made the buzzing level of noise in his head feel weird. Ignoring the sensation, Joey activated his dueldisk and drew a deep breath in. Then, finally, he summoned the Blue Eyes Knight.

* * *

Kaiba didn't know what annoyed him more. The fact he was still in the godforsaken warehouse he'd been sick of the first time he'd seen it. The fact he was still dressed up in some ridiculous outfit being forced to believe he was being projected by his own holographic technology. Or the fact Joey was now the one in control of the supposed dueldisk projecting his image. All he knew was that his annoyance increased further when he spotted the girl meeting once was too much for one lifetime.

It didn't take him long to assess the change in situation since his blackout and for a moment his annoyance was replaced by an almost smug feeling.

'I told you your little plan wouldn't work,' he folded his arms and smirked at Joey.

'My little plan?' For a moment he looked confused, then he shook his head. 'I remember now...'

'If you'd have executed her like I suggested...'

'That is not an option Kaiba,' Joey cut him off. 'It only didn't work last time because she didn't anticipate the strain which was put on Cat's body. A strain which would reveal itself as a sickness. A sickness the darkness made worse, because it meant there was a bar missing. She made a mistake.'

'What on earth are you babbling on about Wheeler?'

'She made a mistake.'

'Who made a mistake?' Kaiba frowned. 'You're not making any sense.'

'No... no I'm making perfect sense. For the first time in a long time everything is making perfect sense to me now. I know what I have to do.'

Joey lifted a hand towards the Catilin girl which caused chains of light to rise up from the ground and restrain her.

'What are you doing?' She struggled against the chains.

'What has to be done.'

'But...'

'You didn't honestly think I was planning on freeing you, did you?' Joey's voice took on the annoying multi-tonal qualities it had the last time Kaiba had been forced to follow Joey's orders. 'I told you I was going to do what needed to be done. I'm going to repair the cage. I'm going to seal you away for good.'

'I should have known you weren't giving into the darkness's demands,' Yugi made his way to Joey's side.

'I'm sorry for the deception, but I had no choice. I had to make it think I was going along with it or it would never have allowed me to summon the Blue Eyes Knight.'

'Don't call me that Wheeler,' Kaiba glared at him.

'I am not Joey Wheeler,' he shook his head. 'He is a part of me, but he is not me and I am not him. Not yet.'

'What's that supposed to mean? And don't give me more of your fairytale...'

'Can't you for once have a little faith Kaiba,' Tristan cut him off.

'Faith in what exactly?'

'The most powerful being in the multiverse,' SK's licked his lips as they flickered into a smile.

'Please, give me a break, since when was Wheeler...'

'Since he became the First,' Tristan tried to appear cool, calm and collected, but it was clear, at least to Kaiba, that he was a little uncomfortable with the idea.

'Joey's the First?' Téa frowned. 'The First what?'

'The First Mistress of Light,' SK licked his lips again, 'Jay told me back at the time of the Disconnection the Mistresses feared their existence was under threat, so they found three potential souls to attach their essence too. Souls who would save their existence should anything happen to them. Souls who became known as the Brotherhood of Brothers. After the Disconnection the threat they'd sense appeared to disappear, only to reappear again with the Khining of the Brotherhood.'

'No wonder you reappeared so quickly when I destroyed your completion,' Catilin gave a cruel laugh. 'I just thought you were being impulsive, but clearly you had it all planned out, didn't you?'

'You didn't think I would face you alone else, did you?' Joey met her gaze.

'I thought maybe you'd gone a little senile in your old age. But you know what, this is definitely better.' She smirked. 'Mortal bodies are much more fragile and so much more fun to play with.'

'You won't get to play with anything. Your fun ends now.' Joey moved his hand in a semi-rotation and a card appeared within it.

'What do you think you're doing?' Catilin again struggled against the chains.

'Ending this,' he whacked the card into his dueldisk, 'once and for all.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The light created from the activation of the Shadows to Light card caused everyone but Tristan and Joey to turn away. Tristan wasn't quite sure how he was able to stand it, but then he wasn't quite sure how he knew what the card was to begin with. He hadn't seen the face of it before Joey slotted it into his dueldisk, but still he knew and that's what mattered. Just like he knew the feelings the First gave him when she was fully in control were different to the ones he had around Joey. A part of him was starting to understand the dread in his stomach a lot better now, but something told him it would be a while yet before he knew exactly what they were about.

For now all he could do was push all thoughts to one side and just watch what was happening around him. The bright light from the Shadows to Light card caused both the card and the projection of the Blue Eyes Knight to disappear. As the light subsided, the real Kaiba groaned loudly as his caged body started to stir. Without hesitation Tristan made his way towards the cage and tried to figure out a way of opening it.

'Use this,' Joey chucked something towards him.

Tristan caught it and grinned more than a little to see what it was. The key. Of course, if the First was powerful enough to retrieve the Shadows to Light card then getting hold of this would be no problem.

'I won't let you ruin my fun,' Catilin growled at Joey as Tristan set about unlocking the cage Kaiba was in.

'You don't have much of a choice.' There was a strange level of calm to Joey's multi-tonal voice. 'You said yourself you only managed to get an arm through; you have no powers.'

'Maybe I don't, but your precious Catilin does.'

As the cage door clicked open an electrical buzzing sounded from behind Tristan. He turned just in time to see a wave of electricity collide with Joey, knocking him off of his feet.

'Looks like I'm not the only one who's a mortal problem now,' Catilin laughed. 'Unless you're telling me this little girl can boast the same level of power as the First.'

'This is nuts,' Kaiba exited the cage, cradling his little brother.

'I guess that's an improvement on _this can't be real_.' Tristan smirked at his own Kaiba impersonation.

'Whatever, I'm out of here.'

'I don't think so,' Tristan blocked his path.

'This little freak show has nothing to do with me.'

'Right now, I'd say this little freak show has everything to do with you.' Tristan flicked his gaze back to the battle still going on between Catilin and Joey. 'The First put you back in your body because she needs your help and I'm going to make sure she gets it.'

'Like you could stop me from leaving,' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

For a moment Tristan's gaze flicked between Kaiba and the ongoing battle. He knew he had to stop Kaiba from leaving somehow but... A wave of inspiration hit him. Like lightning he knocked Kaiba off of his feet and grabbed Mokuba's unconscious body from him.

'You will help the First,' Tristan half backed himself into the cage behind him.

Kaiba glared at him as he got to his feet. He then went to return the blow he'd received with one of his own, but Tristan was faster. As Kaiba regained his balance from his failed attack, Tristan pushed the cage door shut; a part of him was relieved to hear it lock automatically.

'Tristan, I'm warning you...' Kaiba attempted to open the cage door.

'I have the key and I have your brother; I'm not giving either one of them up to you until you've helped the First.'

There eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. No matter what Tristan knew he couldn't afford to back down from this. After what felt like an age, Kaiba's teeth clenched together and he turned his face away.

'Fine I'll help that dog Wheeler out, but if you ever try a stunt like this again Tristan I swear...'

'Whatever,' Tristan sighed in relief as he lowered Mokuba to the ground.

He watched as Kaiba made his way towards where Yugi was standing. Téa, Duke and SK had all backed off to a safe distance and the battle between Catilin and Joey was still going on. A part of Tristan was almost amazed to see how effective Catilin's attacks were despite the fact she was still chained up. Then again Joey, or rather the First, was taking a more defensive stance.

'Kaiba, Yugi, I going to need your help again.' Joey's eyes glanced towards them, revealing a strange white glaze which covered them.

'What makes you think your little light show is going to work any better this time Wheeler,' Kaiba folded his arms. 'I told you last time you were nuts for trying and this time...'

'I told you, last time I didn't count on the process making her sick.'

'And what makes you think it's not going to do the same again?'

Joey held a hand out towards Catilin, creating an almost invisible shield to deflect her attacks as he made his way towards the other two. For a few long moments Tristan found himself holding his breath as he waited to see what the First was planning to do next. He had to admit, a part of him agreed with Kaiba; if the First's plan didn't work the first time why would a second attempt make a difference? The evil in Catilin was clearly stronger and more determined than the First was giving it credit for. It could also cause a lot of damage regardless of what powers it was capable of.

Tristan's insides felt strange, as though doubting the First wasn't something he was supposed to do. As that feeling rode through his stomach the dread which normally stirred there began to rock from side to side. His usual feeling of things not being right shunted forward and a strange kind of change filled the air.

'I'm going to summon my sisters,' Joey's multi-tonal voice was almost deathly in its calm.

'And just what's that supposed to mean,' Kaiba narrowed his gaze on Joey.

'It means I need to borrow yours and Yugi's bodies. It's not safe for my sisters to walk in a mortal Plane right now, not whilst the darkness inside Catilin still has an arm outside of its cage.' Joey met Kaiba's gaze. 'But if they were to borrow your bodies, just for a short while, then our combined strength will be enough to cage the darkness and remove the sickness which weakened Catilin. I underestimated this situation last time; I won't make that mistake again.'

'And just what makes you think I'm going to let you?'

'Kaiba, Joey needs us,' Yugi shot him a look, 'we have to help him.'

'We don't have to do anything,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'can't you see his plan is complete and utter madness? He...'

'Kaiba, I can't keep this shield up all day,' Joey winced as more and more of Catilin's attacks collided with the shield he'd created. 'Joey's continuous battle to keep me down has prevented his body from adjusting to my powers. Right now I'm hurting him and the longer we delay the more damage is being done. You must agree to my plan. You must allow my sister to take control of your body.'

'Don't forget I still have your brother locked up with me Kaiba,' Tristan slammed his fists against the cage, making all eyes turn towards him for a moment, 'if you want him back you will help the First. That's our deal, remember?'

'I still think your plan is madness Wheeler,' Kaiba made a noise of disgust as he turned his attention back towards Joey, 'but since your little cheerleader isn't giving me much of a choice I guess I'll have to go along with it.'

'You can count me in too Joey,' Yugi stepped forward. 'Whatever it takes to do what needs to be done, right?'

'Thank you,' Joey flicked a glance between them, 'both of you. I can't promise you this won't hurt, but I can promise you, you won't forget it.' A blinding light reached out of him towards the other two.

'Funny,' Kaiba grunted as the light appeared to consume his body, 'I'm pretty sure I already do.'

* * *

The light which had almost blinded him had crashed into darkness. For a few seconds Kaiba tried to find his bearings. Once he had he found himself floating in an empty void. A slight groan pushed its way out of him as he realised he'd lost consciousness.

'Great, remind me never to follow one of Wheeler's plans again.'

'And I hope you'll never need to,' a bright light appeared to the far left of him, 'my sister is smart and powerful, but her apathy can often lead her to inaction. And that inaction often causes problems even she cannot see.'

'Who are you,' he attempted to turn towards the light, but it was too bright.

'I am the Original Balance,' the light moved closer to him, becoming more and more intense as it did, 'the reason good and evil exist. The...'

'Spare me,' Kaiba rolled his eyes, 'you're just another hallucination designed to confuse me.'

'You've got spunk, I like that. But I may need to do something about your lack of faith,' the light was almost on top of him now; forcing his eyes to shut against it. 'I do not doubt my sister's plan, but I fear she has gravely underestimated this situation. You feel it too, right?'

'If you're asking me if I think his plan is nuts, then yes,' Kaiba did his best to turn his head away from the light and cover his eyes. 'I think he should just do away with Catilin completely.'

'It's unfortunate, but Catilin is needed. I know that as well as my sister does, so as much as I might like to I can't agree with you.'

'But you still don't think her plan will work?'

'We've all sensed something... wrong with the multiverse. Something's coming which will change everything. The First ignores it because she apathetic and therefore does nothing. The Face of Friendship ignores it because she's passive and therefore does nothing. But I cannot ignore it. You, Seto Kaiba, are a lot like me. You know when you need to take action and when you need to be ready for something.'

'Just what are you trying to say,' something inside Kaiba made him look towards the light.

'I'm saying you need to be ready Seto Kaiba.'

'Ready for what?' His eyes blinked open against the light and he was able to make out the silhouette of a woman.

'Ready for me. I need you to be ready for me.' As the woman approached him through the light, small details about her became clearer.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'I think you know.'

'Uh...' he stared at her for a long couple of moments, 'what makes you think...?'

'If it happens it happens, but believe me when I tell you this Seto Kaiba, I hope with everything in me my sister's plan works.'

'And if it doesn't?'

'If it doesn't then I need you to be ready.' The woman stopped just close enough for Kaiba to see her face. 'I do not want to share my sister's fate, but I need you to be ready for it just in case.'

* * *

The Pharaoh groaned as he started to come round. He felt something hard beneath him and a slightly dry chill in the air which reminded him of...

'The Millennium Puzzle,' his eyes flicked open, 'but... what am I doing in here.'

'Posing a problem,' Yugi knelt down in front of him.

'What?'

'You shouldn't be here. I only need the one of you and he's much more suited.'

'What are you talking about Yugi?' The Pharaoh found himself sitting up in alarm.

'Oh, you haven't worked it out yet,' Yugi pulled himself back up to a standing position.

'Worked what out? Yugi, what are you talking about?'

'I am not Yugi,' he stretched a hand towards him, 'I am the face of your greatest friend.'

'I...' the Pharaoh allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, 'I'm not sure I understand.'

'I feel your confusion,' a strange smile appeared on Yugi's face, 'mortal emotion is so much more subtle, I think I prefer it somehow.'

'Who are you?'

'I am the Second Mistresses of Light, but it has been a long, long time since anyone has called me that.'

'Then what do they call you?' The Pharaoh frowned.

'The Face of Friendship.'

'Is that why...?'

'I am the face of your greatest friend,' he nodded. 'Yes, I have no other way of being. I have no face of my own you see.'

'No face of your own,' the Pharaoh studied Yugi for a moment, 'has it always been that way?'

'Yes. When I came into being there was no face,' he lowered his gaze, 'I still do not know why my sisters are both so beautiful and I am merely a reflection.'

'You're here to help Joey, aren't you?'

'I'm here to help the First,' Yugi half turned from him. 'My sister called me so I came. And when I came I found you. You see, it is him I am connected to now. This is his body. You are connected to it but you do not belong. This poses a problem, but only for now.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'That it only poses a problem for as long as I need the body.' Yugi glanced towards him. 'My sister knows what she's doing, so you will not see me again.'

'What if you're wrong?' The Pharaoh frowned. 'What if her plan doesn't work?'

'My sister is doing everything in her power to make sure we do not share her fate.' Yugi shrugged. 'If I do not share her fate, then you will not become a problem for me.'

'But if you do share her fate, then I am a problem for you?'

'You do not belong and it is him I need, not you.'

'But I am connected to him and you cannot get rid of me, is that what you're trying to say?' The Pharaoh took half a step towards Yugi.

'It poses a strange problem, but neither of us need concern ourselves with it.' Yugi smiled at him. 'After all, my sister's plan will work and I will not share her fate.'

'You have a lot of confidence in her.'

'She has a lot of confidence in herself and I am nothing more than a mirror.'

'So your faith in her...'

'Is a reflection, yes,' Yugi nodded. 'But that does not mean I do not believe it's true. The First will not allow me to share her fate, not if she can do anything to prevent it. I have faith in that; because I know my sister loves me and will do everything she can to protect me.'

'And if she fails?'

'Then it will be because there was nothing she could do to prevent it.' Yugi sighed. 'But either way things will be as they are meant to be.'

'You have a lot of faith in the face of so many unknowns.'

'I am faith,' he smiled, 'its hard not to be filled with something that you are.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The white light which emanated from the three Mistresses' hosts was almost too intense for words. Téa and Duke both had to shield their eyes and faces away from it. As it was SK could only just stand to look at it although he couldn't make out a single detail within it. To him it was little more than an intense mess of light which created splodges in his vision. He turned his head towards the line of cages as he tried to blink the splodges out. His vision cleared a little and he found himself focusing his gaze on Tristan.

Tristan was stood right behind the bars, with his hands pressed against them and his eyes were transfixed on the light. SK's tongue skated across his lips a couple of times as he made his way towards him. When he reached the bars he turned his gaze for a moment back towards the mass of light, just to see if this angle made any difference. It didn't and his gaze quickly shunted back towards Tristan.

'Doesn't it hurt your eyes?'

'No,' Tristan shook his head.

'Can you see what's happening?'

'Yes,' his hands gripped the bars, 'and it's strangely beautiful.'

For a few moments SK was silent. His tongue made several more passes across his lips as he tried and failed to resist the words pressing against him.

'There really is something different about you.'

'I think I'm finally starting to understand why people keep telling me that,' Tristan's gaze remained fixed on the light.

'Do you know what you are?' SK studied him for a moment.

'No, but I think it has something to do with them.' He nodded towards the Light.

'Jay told me that some Guardians know they are destined to be Guardians even before they die.' SK attempted to look into the light again. 'Those special qualities the Mistresses look for are always present, whether we're aware of them or not. Although compared to what I've seen of you, Jay and Octan, I'm not totally convinced I have them.'

'Are you telling me I'm destined to become one of the Mistresses' Guardians?' Tristan gave a strange half laugh.

'I don't know,' SK glanced back towards him, his vision again covered by dark splodges, 'only the Mistresses can decide something like that, but... I'd be prepared for an early death just in case.'

'What?'

'Something else Jay told me about the Guardians,' SK lowered his gaze, 'they all die young, sudden and unexpected deaths. And most of those deaths are fairly violent.'

'Young, sudden, unexpected and violent...' Tristan sighed, 'maybe that's what I've been feeling. This dread inside of me. This feeling that things are wrong. Maybe it's just been warning me about my death.'

'Do you really believe that?'

Tristan was silent for a few moments as a thoughtful expression pulled across his face. His hand gripped the material above his stomach as his gaze appeared to peer further into the mass of light.

'No. No this feeling is not about my death,' Tristan shook his head slowly, 'but it does have something to do with them. I have something to do with them.' A strange smile pulled across his face. 'You know, maybe I am meant to be a Guardian. This feeling I have towards them, being a Guardian in the making might explain it. But I don't think I'm going to die any time soon.'

'What makes you so sure of that?' SK frowned as he licked his lips again.

'Because one of the Mistresses is trapped in a mortal body now,' Tristan leant his forehead against the bars, 'so maybe she needs a living Guardian and not a dead one.'

* * *

'He can see us,' the Pure cast a glance towards the line of cages as their ritual came to an end.

'I am aware of that,' the First knelt down beside the now unconscious body of Catilin.

'He really is something special, isn't he?'

'I'm aware of that too.'

'He would make for a good Guardian,' the Face of Friendship tilted her head to one side, 'we are short on those right now. Training more than one of them would give us options.'

'Not really,' the Pure folded her arms as she continued to study the boy in the cage, 'SK is still the only viable one to take over the role of Helper. He can move between the worlds, that boy can't.'

'That's only true whilst he remains alive,' the First finished her examination of Catilin and got to her feet, 'and since Guardians are usually dead...'

'I won't allow it,' the Pure cut her off, 'death changes people and I like the way he is now. Besides, you're living in his world now; he may not have any powers, but he still could be of use to you.'

'It would make SK officially the next Helper,' the First folded her arms as she maintained the barrier of light around them, 'you do realise that, right?'

'It had already been agreed on, remember sister,' she smirked. 'SK will make for a very good Helper, when he's ready. Until then we still have Jay.'

'Octan,' the First glared at her, 'and by the end of the month you're to start transferring his responsibilities over to SK.'

'SK won't be ready by then.'

'At what point did I say you're to transfer them all in one go little sister?' The First turned away from her. 'Not too quickly, not too slowly, but bit by bit you're to hand the Helper's responsibilities over to SK. The sooner you do, the sooner we can punish Jay.'

'Since when was this about punishing Jay?' The Pure rolled her eyes. 'Jay was the catalyst yes, but Octan was the one...'

'We are not having this argument again.'

'And I won't hand over all the Helper's responsibilities to SK until SK is ready for them.'

'Since when was that your decision to make?' The First glared at her. 'Last I checked I was the eldest.'

'And last I checked we still voted on the important things,' the Pure placed her hands on her hips and glared back at the First, 'or at least some of us still do.'

'How many times do I have to go through this with you? I didn't have a choice; I did it to save you, both of you.'

'How can you call us saved when things are still so wrong First? That feeling still hasn't gone away. Whatever it is that is going to happen... it's still coming. You can't say we're saved until that feeling goes away, why can't you see that?'

'I'm not having this discussion with you.' The First took a step towards her. 'I am the eldest and...'

'You know what's best, right? But you're apathetic,' the Pure turned away from her, 'you only act when you absolutely have to and even then you do as little as possible to _solve_ the situation. Well your patch job didn't work last time...'

'I miscalculated...'

'You got it wrong. You can dress it up all you like. Pretend it's anything you want. But at the end of the day First you tried to put a plaster on a gaping wound and hoped for the best.'

'This discussion comes to an end now,' the First lowered her voice. 'You two are to return home.'

'You can't keep ordering us around like we're know nothing children First,' the Pure shook her head, 'don't you get it? Things aren't right and I fear what's coming. I fear it because you're making all the decisions for us, when you don't really care about anything.'

'How can you say I don't care, everything I've done I've done for you. For both of you. You're the only things I have left I still really care about. I will not have you share my fate and I will not allow you to make decisions which might put you in harm's way.'

'Decisions like how long Jay gets to stick around for?' The Pure folded her arms. 'Do you really consider Jay that much of a threat to us?'

'I just don't want to see anything hurt you little sister, not again,' the First placed a hand on her shoulder. 'You feel so much that sometimes I envy you. I even envy what you must have felt when... I hated seeing you so broken; so completely broken. I can't see you hurt like that again Pure; physically or emotionally.'

'So you choose not to see us at all,' the Pure turned away from her. 'You may envy me my emotions sister, but I do not envy you your apathy. Because I would rather be broken a thousand times over, then live one day completely dead inside.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

'Where... where am? What... what's going on? Why... why is it so bright here?' Catilin covered her face.

'There's no need to be scared child,' the light around them began to dim, 'my sisters and I have repaired the cage inside of you and made you well again.'

'The cage...? I...? The darkness...? Ahna? Is Ahna alright? Did I hurt her?' Catilin stared around the warehouse she now found herself in. 'Ahna?' She tried to scramble towards her friend, but the chains prevented her from moving.

'It's alright,' Joey knelt down in front of her, the white glaze covering his eyes revealing who he really was, 'everything will be alright now as long as you remain strong.'

'Ahna...? What about Ahna? She... she's my friend and I... I don't want to see her hurt. Please... please it wasn't her fault... It was mine.'

'It was the darkness inside of you making you do bad things,' Joey lowered his gaze, 'I should have made sure all the bars were in place. But she does not have your excuse and I'm not sure yet what to do with her.'

'Ahna...'

Joey got to his feet and turned his gaze over the others. For a few moments there was a weighty kind of silence, then he turned his gaze towards Yugi.

'Use this to release the other souls,' he tossed a card in Joey's direction, 'they should all be in Ahna's deck, but if they're not my host will help you find them when he returns. For now I must take these two back to Sil; regardless of whose to blame they must both be dealt with appropriately. My host will return as soon as I'm done.'

With that he removed Ahna's dueldisk, before scooping her up from the floor. He then made his way towards Catilin and stood close behind her. His eyes turned towards the line of cages and for a moment he hesitated.

'SK you may remain here until my host returns,' he lowered his gaze, 'call it your reward for a... fairly successful first time out in the field. But don't get too settled, when the living and the dead mix things become too complicated. And I refuse to spend forever cleaning up after the dead.'

* * *

Even before Joey had done his disappearing act, Kaiba had made his way towards the cage his brother was locked in. By the time he'd reached it Tristan had already unlocked the door. The day was not one Kaiba was planning to repeat any time soon; all he wanted to do now was grab his brother and forget any of it had ever happened. But as he entered the cage his shoulder brushed past Tristan's and a strange sensation fizzled through him.

An almost involuntary gasp escaped him as his eyes turned towards the other boy. As their eyes met a deep frown formed across Tristan's face.

_'I may need to do something about your lack of faith.'_

The words echoed inside of Kaiba's mind, forcing him to grit his teeth and turn his head away. He didn't know who or what that woman was, but he wasn't about to let her get under his skin like this. There was just no way he was about to start having faith in fairytales just because _she_ wanted him to. Besides, he had all the faith he needed in himself and his company; that should be more than enough.

As he crossed the cage towards Mokuba's still unconscious body, he felt Tristan's eyes on his back. Or at least he thought he did. When he glanced back towards the other boy he was leant against the door of the cage, staring out towards the others.

'You know I don't take kindly to anyone who tries to use my brother against me,' Kaiba didn't know why he felt like he needed to break the silence between them, but he did.

'Really,' Tristan rolled his eyes and glanced towards him, 'because your psychopathic reaction to the times his life has actually been in danger didn't make that obvious enough to me.'

'Whatever,' Kaiba his attention back to Mokuba, 'just don't do it again.'

'Trust me; I don't plan on making a habit out of it. I just had to make sure you helped the First.'

'Yeah, I got that,' he scooped his brother up into his arms, 'what I don't get is why.'

'Do you really care?' Tristan's gaze returned to his friends. 'You're probably not going to believe me anyway.'

'You're right, I'm probably not. In fact, I'm really not big on the whole fairytale explanation thing.'

'So then why ask for it?'

'Because isn't trying to get me to believe in that crap something you geeks really love to do?'

Tristan shrugged, but said nothing. Kaiba wasn't totally sure how he felt about his reaction. Normally he couldn't stand listening to them babble on about anything, never mind the fairytale nonsense which made him want to shoot himself every time he heard about it. But something felt different this time.

_'I may need to do something about your lack of faith.'_

The words echoed inside of Kaiba's mind again like some kind of taunting threat. After a few long moments of silence Tristan's gaze turned back towards him. The curious frown he'd been wearing early returned and Kaiba found himself turning away from it.

'I may not care why you felt the need to force me into helping Wheeler, but that doesn't mean...'

'You want to know?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I wouldn't go as far as _want_, but I think you owe me an explanation.' Kaiba tried to play it as cool as possible, even though he hated himself for every second he indulged this conversation.

'Maybe there really is some hope for you yet.'

'Whatever, are you going to tell me or not?'

'You may not believe me when I say this Kaiba, but I can sense something,' Tristan's gaze turned once more towards his friends. 'I don't understand what it is or why I can sense it, I don't even fully understand why they can't,' he indicated towards the others, 'but it's there and its coming.'

_'Something's coming which will change everything...'_

More words echoed inside Kaiba's mind. He shook his head to try and erase them, but they hung there; clinging on for all they were worth. For a few long minutes there was silence.

'Isn't this the part you tell me you wished you'd never asked and that I'm talking a load of nonsense or something?' Tristan's gaze met with his again.

'Whatever,' Kaiba made his way towards the cage door as Mokuba started rousing in his arms.

Tristan shrugged and half stepped aside to let him passed, but just as before their shoulders brushed and the strange fizzling sensation shot through him again. Kaiba gritted his teeth and did everything in his power to stop himself from acknowledging it this time.

'Seto...' Mokuba murmured as his eyes flickered open. 'Uh... where...?'

'Seto, Mokuba,' SK chose that exact moment to arrive next to them.

'SK,' Mokuba grinned as he fully regained his senses, 'are you really here?'

'Yes, but... probably just to say goodbye again,' he gave a nervous laugh and licked his lips, 'I don't know how long Joey's planning to be...'

'I don't care how long he is,' Mokuba forced Kaiba to set him down on the ground, 'I've missed you SK, any length of time will do.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

'How much longer is he planning to be,' Téa groaned as she took a seat on some of the packing crates. 'I feel like he's been gone for hours already.'

Tristan gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. Joey had only been gone for an hour so far and in that time they'd managed to free all the souls trapped by the Light to Shadows card. It was now just him, Yugi, Téa, Duke and Mai left inside the warehouse; the Kaiba boys and their cousin having opted to taking a little alone family time elsewhere.

'I'm sure he won't be much longer,' Yugi shot Téa a wary smile, 'he's probably just got caught up with something.'

'What do you think he's going to do to them?' Téa kicked her legs back against the crate she was sat on. 'I mean, I know they both caused a lot of damage, but it wasn't really their fault.'

'What do you suppose these really were?' Duke picked up the bottle of pills Joey had discarded earlier.

'Does it matter,' Tristan shrugged and half turned his gaze away.

'Well, yeah, it does. I mean, who knows what damage they were doing to his body. He should get them tested or something, just in case.'

'So long as he doesn't take any more of them I don't really care what he does,' Mai folded her arms. 'I can't believe Ahna was drugging him. I mean, how desperate does a girl need to be to get a man that way?'

'Did anyone else get a weird feeling when the two of them were arguing?' Téa's face pulled with thought. 'A feeling like they really did care a lot about each other.'

'You think they were in love?' Tristan laughed.

'You don't?'

'What do you think?'

'I think we can't underestimate the strength of the relationship between them,' Téa folded her arms. 'Joey did say they were getting married, didn't he?'

'Yeah, before she turned out to be a psychopath. Do you really think he'll still want her after that?'

'You can't stop yourself loving someone just because they've hurt you.'

'And you're the expert on love all of a sudden, are you?' Tristan glared at her.

'I wouldn't say I was an expert, but I'm pretty sure I know a lot more about it than you Tristan,' she returned his glare. 'The only thing you're an expert on these days is losing your temper.'

'Well if you'd stop being so damn irritating all the time...'

'I should go,' Mai cut their argument short. 'I mean, Joey's coming back to see you guys, he's not going to notice if I'm not there.'

'That's not true Mai,' Tristan sighed and massaged his temples. 'You should wait for him to get back.'

'No, I should go,' she made her way towards the warehouse doors, 'I have things to do and hanging around a warehouse all day with you guys isn't one of them. Tell Joey I said bye and I'll see you all again sometime.'

She left before any of them could stop her. Tristan found himself rolling his eyes again and wishing Téa hadn't been so stupid in her argument over Joey and Ahna's relationship. It wasn't as though Tristan could come out and say _Joey's not in love with Ahna he's in love with Mai you idiot_; that would have just made things worse. Instead he added it to his list of reasons why Téa was rapidly becoming his least favourite person to be around. It was like she went out of her way to make life more difficult for everyone else.

'Do you think someone should go find that SK guy?' Duke broke the silence which had formed between them. 'I mean, I'm not sure he was supposed to just wonder off like that.'

'I'm sure Joey will be able to find him when he needs to,' Tristan shrugged. 'Besides, I like the idea of SK hanging around a little longer; he's good to talk to.'

'That reminds me, what were you two talking about whilst that light show was going on?'

'Does it matter?'

'No, I'm just curious. I mean, you were the only one who appeared to be unfazed by the brightness of those lights.'

'Yeah, that's true,' Téa frowned at him, 'even SK struggled, so why could you just stare at them like that?'

'Who knows,' Tristan shrugged again and averted his gaze. 'Look, it's really not important.'

'Let me guess, this is one of those _ask any more questions and I'll lose my temper for no good reason_ situations, isn't it?' Téa groaned. 'Remind me to stop trying to talk to you.'

Tristan resisted the urge to say _if only_. Instead he kept his gaze turned away from her and pretended he really didn't care one way or the other what she thought.

'What's with the mega tension?' Joey's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

They all turned towards him and Tristan sighed at the change in sensation Joey's presence caused inside of him. He knew Joey no longer battling against the First would probably cause this kind of a reaction, but he didn't expect it to be so immediate. Joey returned Tristan's gaze with a deep frown of his own, before shaking his head and passing him the very thick and bulky looking book he was holding.

'The First wants you to have this. She's not totally sure what she wants to do with you yet, but...'

'She figures I could do with a little light reading,' Tristan cocked an eyebrow as he studied the cover of the book. 'So I am meant to be a Guardian then?'

'She really didn't say, but I can't think of many other reasons why she would want you to have _The Complete History of the Mistresses' Guardians_ if she wasn't at least considering you,' Joey shrugged.

'Do you think maybe it'll help you understand all those weird things you've been feeling?' Téa suddenly appeared beside him.

'Well if it does I'll make sure you're the first to know,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'So where are the others?' Joey changed the topic.

'The Kaibas and SK went for some family time a while back; my guess is they're probably at the Kaiba mansion.'

'Perfect,' Joey sighed, 'I'm pretty sure the First wanted him to hang around here.'

'Yeah, well, what you going to do about it, really?' Tristan shrugged.

'So what about Mai?'

'She said she had other things to get on with, you've only just missed her. If you hurry you might still be able to catch her.'

Joey made half a step towards the door of the warehouse, then hesitated.

'Damn SK, why couldn't you just hang around here,' Joey gritted his teeth. 'I have to go deal with him now.'

'But what about Mai?' Tristan shot him a curious glance. 'If you don't catch her now, who knows when you might see her again.'

'The First's not exactly giving me a choice right now,' Joey winced and rubbed the back of his neck. 'Don't worry; I'll make sure I catch Mai before she leaves Domino.'

'You'd better Joey, because if you blow this chance...'

'Stop knowing so much,' Joey squirmed, 'it really impresses the First and that makes me uncomfortable.'

'Will you just hurry up and go already?' Tristan shook his head. 'Mai's not going to wait for you forever.'

* * *

Mai gave a heavy sigh and stared out across the water. She was sat on the warm bonnet of her convertible, wondering why she couldn't bring herself to leave Domino City just yet. The sun was just starting to set, turning the sky into a patchwork of reds, oranges, blues and edging blacks. As much as she tried to keep her mind off of Joey, she found herself wondering what he was doing; whether he had made it back to the warehouse yet or if he was still with Catilin and Ahna.

Ahna... Just the thought of her name filled Mai with intense feelings of jealousy. Okay so she'd betrayed Joey in so many ways he should hate the very sight of her. But Téa was right; from what Mai had seen of their relationship there was a lot of affection there. And maybe they weren't in love with each other, but that didn't mean their relationship was devoid of love completely. Ahna was Silkoneon, Joey was Silkoneon, didn't that somehow mean they were meant to be together?

Mai slid herself off of the bonnet of her car and took a few steps towards the cliff edge. She half closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. The sea air around her filled her with a strange sense of loneliness. The part of her heart she'd kept so cleverly guarded began to open and beat with the sensation of tears brimming in her eyes; Ahna didn't belong with Joey, she did.

'I'm sorry I took so long to find you Mai,' Joey's voice sounded from behind her, making her jump, 'but it couldn't be helped.'

She turned towards him, spotting him sitting in the front passenger seat of her convertible. A strong breeze whipped her long hair around her face and for a few moments there was silence.

'Does Ahna know you're here?' Mai took a step towards him, breaking the silence as she did.

'Ahna did a bad thing. No,' Joey lowered his head and gave a strange half laugh, 'Ahna did a lot of bad things and even if it was for the right reasons, I can't forgive her.'

'So it's over between you then?' She couldn't keep the hope out of her voice.

'I'm not sure it was ever really there to begin with,' Joey pulled himself out of her car and made his way towards her. 'I'm sorry... if my relationship with Ahna caused you any pain, I'm sorry. I know I wasn't thinking clearly, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have turned my back on my heart like that.'

'What are you saying?' Mai felt herself tremble a little as Joey stopped a few inches away from her.

'That I love you,' his gaze flicked up to meet with hers. 'I think I've always loved you; you're my Calcanto.'

'That word again...' Mai shook her head, 'what does it mean?'

'Soul mate,' a loving smile filled his face as he tentatively placed a hand on her arm, before sliding it down and taking hold of her hand. 'Calcanto means soul mate. I know... I know what I'm saying must sound crazy to you right now, but... Its how I feel. It's what I know. It's what you are to me.'

'Do you think a pretty sentiment is going to make me forget you were engaged to someone else?' Mai half turned away from him.

'No, I don't think it will. I think I'm going to have to prove myself to you,' Joey took half a step closer to her. 'But if you let me, I'll prove to you you're the only one I could ever love. I want you to be a part of my world Mai and I want to be a part of yours.'

'Then show me.'

'What?'

'Show me your world. Show me Sil. Show me the part of your life which almost took you away from me,' Mai brushed her fingers through Joey's hair, before placing her hand on the back of his neck. 'If you really want me to be a part of your life, then let me see your life. Take me to Sil; I want to be a part of your world.'

End.


End file.
